Decision of Fate
by KaitouKudou
Summary: The long awaited final chapter, epilogue included. I hope you all like it. This story is DONE!
1. Default Chapter

Story line Base

This is one I sent to a ELA teacher so it contains character descriptions. I apologize to FanFic members for I did not know voting was prohibited. Therefore, please do not vote any more. I have made my decision on who will die and who will live and I hope all of you will enjoy it no matter who it is. I posted this file because I was too lazy to put up all 11 chapters back up. Yes, ch.11 is up now! Please R&R

My story is based on a mystery anime series. The following are the characters.

**Kudou Shinichi**: seventeen year old high school detective. When he caught taking sight of some suspicious activities when he went to an amusement park with his childhood friend Ran, he was too caught up in looking at the crime and didn't notice another person coming behind him. He got hit on the head and forced to take an untested toxin, which is suppose to kill without leaving its trace while he was unconscious on the ground.

**Edogawa Conan**: The toxin that Shinichi had taken did not kill him but instead shrunk him back to his seven-year-old body. If the men who did this to him found out that he was still alive, there will be danger to all who was around him. Therefore he changed his name to Edogawa Conan to hide his identity and took refuge at Ran's home to try and get news about the ones that done this to him because her father was a detective.

**Agasa Hiroshi**: A genius scientist and a life long friend of Shinichi's. At age 52, he is one of the few that knows Conan's true Identity. He had made Conan a few items for him to be able to fight crime.

Strength amplifying shoes: A pair of sneakers that use special electrical waves that hits the individual's foot that allows the muscles to give out all that it can.

Tranquilizer watch: A watch with an aimer and a button to the side that acts as the trigger that fires a tranquilizer needle from the front.

Bowtie voice changer: a bowtie with a few dials in the back that allows the person using it to give out all sorts of different voices

**Mouri Ran**: She is Shinichi's childhood friend. She takes care of Conan but she does not know his true identity. She likes Shinichi but denies it in front of other. (The same goes for Shinichi) From what she knows, Conan is a relative of Professor Agasa, and she took him in because of his favor.

**Mouri Kogoro**: Ran's father. He runs a detective agency but because he isn't a very good detective, so Conan has used his watch to put him to sleep and the bowtie to change into his voice and solved numerous of cases. Thus, the society gave him a nick name of "The Great Sleeping Detective".

**GinVodka**: The men's code name that gave Shinichi Apotoxin 4869. (The drug which shrunk him) They belong to a secret crime organization which uses drink names for their agents.

**Haibara Ai**: She use to belong to the Black Organization with the code name, Sherry. She ran away when she found out that her sister had been killed by the Organization and was found collapsed infront of Shinichi's house by Professor Agasa. She is the one that developed the drug APTX4869. She now helps out Shinichi in crushing the organization.

**Akai ShuichiJodie (Not sure about last name)**: They are both FBI agents that is also going after the B.O.(Black Organization). Not much information has been given out about either from the episodes that I have watched.

**Ayumi/Genta/Mitsuhiko**: They are Conan's elementary friends. They created a club called "Detective Boys" and have solved some cases thanks to the help of Conan.

That is about all the characters that will come out in my story. Enjoy and I will be waiting for your comments.

Decision of Fate

Ch1. Introduction

"Gin! This has nothing to do with her, let her go now." A small figure stood against the dark, still breathing heavily from his chase. The young boy's eyes filled with the long year's rage to which he awaited so long to unleash to the black-cloaked man.

"Don't be so hasty Kudou Shinichi, she's still safe. Vodka is guarding her closely at the moment. However I now give you a choice." Gin gave a smirk as he looked heavily down on the tiny detective.

"What?" the young lad twitched his eyes, "What do you want!"

"Nothing, I just want to know the location of a certain…subject." The dark man prolonged the conversation.

"What is it!" patients was running thin on the young boy, "If it is my life you wish to have then take it. As long as you will free Ran after I am dead then kill me now and get it over with!"

"Oh, I have no need for your worthless life." Gin replied coldly.

"Then what is it that you want? Tell me now!" Conan demanded.

"Sherry!" The man in black blunted out with great weight.

The young child's eyes widened and his mouth opened in a gasp. His heart pained from skipping a beat from his enemy's words. A moment piercing silence immerged that quickly disappeared with the howling of the cold night wind. The moon hung ever so quietly up above in the sky, striking the dark ally with its reflecting light. The child bit his teeth together and lowered his brows, showing his anger through his extensive glare.

End…

Ch2

The Enemy's Charge

'Conan's thought'

Ran's thoughts 

……Earlier that day…….

A door flew open in a hotel as a tubby man dressed in all black from head to toe ran in with great hurry. "Aniki! Aniki! The guy was still alive!" He said.

"What is it Vodka?" A taller man also dressed in the same fashion turned around from his view of the city from the 17th floor to his partner.

"You know how Belmot committed suicide after she was cornered by the FBI last week? Well, I led some of our men to go destroy the evidence and relations as usual and we found this." Vodka handed over a thin profile folder.

"Cool Guy?" Gin opened the folder, "Edogawa Conan, huh whats this. Kudou Shinichi? That's the detective boy that I killed with the organization's new pill isn't it? Why would she have a profile of him?"

"Read that record. Its quite unbelievable." Vodka replied.

Gin took the records to his hand and gave a quick glance, "What! I see…Interesting."

"Do you think its true?" Vodka asked.

"Knowing Belmot I'm sure that this is true. As I recall, during the experiments that, that woman did to the mice, there was one mouse that only got smaller rather then died, this possibility is not impossible?" Gin said looking back out through the window, "Well, well. It looks like this young boy gave her quite some trouble. Huh, even better, he knows the where about of that woman."

Mean while, back at home…

"Ittekimasu!" the voice of a young boy and his teenage guardian sounded through the tiny office above the café. Mr. Mouri tilted his head to the side from his bed, still aching from last nights hang over moaned, raised his hand, and continued to snore.

The two figures walked down the street, holding each other's hands. The morning air felt fresh and cool as it touched their skin. The sun sat above giving gentle rays down to there face, lighting up all the tiny details that made their character.

Ran looked down and smiled at the Half ling that reached up high to continue grasping her hand. "Here Conan-kun, I got you something yesterday and forgot about it." She said as she pulled out a tiny box from her jacket.

The little boy turned his head in question, "Wow, thanks Ran-neechan." He took the box to his hand and opened it. Inside was a round stone. Spirals of colors that ran from top to bottom decorated the shiny surface. He took it to his hands carefully and examined it closely. "Where did you get this?"

"To tell you the truth, I won it at the department store. You know, those things where if you buy their goods, you get a chance to win a prize. That was the please try again reward." Ran laughed, "I thought you might like it, kids always like shiny round things don't they?"

"Huh? Ri..Right!" Conan said trying to not seem forceful. 'Sure, give me the garbage that you don't want.'

"What you don't like it?" Ran asked blinking her eyes.

"No, no! I LOVE IT A LOT! ITS SO…….SHINY!" Conan laughed.

"I knew you'd like it." Giggled Ran.

'Heh….Heh…heh…hehhhhhhhh……'

"Hey, isn't that Haibara-san?" asked Ran.

"Huh, Yeah. OI Haibara!" Conan waved his hands.

"Ku..I mean Conan-kun, Ran-san, good morning to you." Haibara said sliding her pupils to the right.

"Well, Conan-kun, I'm going to go to Sonoko's house to meet with her before going to school so I'll leave you to escort your little girl friend to school okay?" Ran mused patting the little boy on his head, messing up his hair.

Conan fixed his hair as he watched the teen take off down the street with a tired expression. "Now then Haibara, what's wrong with you today morning."

"Huh, what are you talking about? Nothing is wrong." Answered the tiny brunet.

"Don't give me that, I can tell when something isn't right. Let me guess, you had another nightmare didn't you? I told you, just forget about them and try to live life normally. Well…As normally as you can pretend to be a sixth grader I suppose." He answered brightly holding the circular rock against the sun.

Haibara nodded and walked forward, taking an uneasy stride.

"Hey, remember…" Conan shouted.

"That you promised to protect me if things got bad?" Haibara turned her head and laughed.

Conan smiled back.

KING KONG….

The after school bell rang at the high school. Ran walked back happily down her usual root. A Black classic Porsche followed closely behind unnoticed.

Conan had gone to Professor Agasa's home after school to check out if anything new was going on. "Hey Hakase, got any new mechs for me yet?" He asked in a rather unhopeful way.

"Haha no, not at the moment. I'm making the first electric car that's so efficient that it is able to charge its battery not only from the sun during the morning but from the street lights at night as well. Thus the pollution problem well be solve all around and I will be a millionaire, no billionare!" Agasa said with great enthusiasm.

'I've heard that since I was a kid every time I come over'

(I wonder how long his going to keep this up. Just a week ago he got angry for trying to invent the first portable tent that inflates with a complete living room.) Haibara thought as she filled a cup of coffee and walked slowly over.

Ring

"Huh, oh the phone." The professor moved slowly over and picked up the receiver, "Hello?"

"Give me Kudou Shinichi!" a low voice demanded.

"Huh, oh Shinichi? Here Shinichi its for you." Agasa handed the phone over.

Conan adjusted his little bow tie and took the receiver.

"Hello?" Shinichi said.

"Hm hmm, Kudou shinichi. Don't bother changing your voice. Or should I call you Edogawa Conan?" The voice laughed.

A look of sheer surprise came on the young man's face, "Who are you?" he asked calmly still keeping his bowtie on.

"You do not remember me any more do you boy detective? Then maybe you will remember this voice…."

"Shinichi! Whats going on, who are these people with weird drink names… Where are you, what do they want from me?" A voice of a terrified female rang across the phone.

'Drink names? It can't be…' "Ran!" He screamed into the phone.

"That should be enough. If you want to see her alive then come to the Beika plaza tonight at 8:00. If you think that we aren't serious, we could send you one of her fingers or perhaps her ear." The voice taunted.

"No, I'll go…I'll go, don't hurt her!" Kudou answered.

"Come alone. I'll give further instructions when you arrive there." The phone clicked and the signal was gone.

"Who was that Shinichi?" Agasa asked.

"Gin…" Conan grasped his opene hand into a fist and grinded his teeth.

Haibara had dropped her coffee, which spilled all over the floor, and stood in shock. Her muscles tensed and her lungs gasped for air. She was frozen on the spot.

"They found out who I am…Damn it. I bet it was Belmot that the FBI caught last week. When the organization found out, they gone to her house to get rid of all traceable evidence and must have found my profile. Even though most had already been taken by the FBI in her other apartments, they managed to hit the jack pot on this one." He laughed uneasily.

"Di..did they find out who I was as well?" Haibara asked putting both her hands together in front of her chest.

"No, I doubt that. If they did, they would ask you to come with me. But they told me to come alone. This means that the FBI has your profile so you are safe." He replied. That didn't make the little girl at any ease. She continued to stand there, motionless and horrified.

"They have Ran as hostage…" He slided his eyes.

"What, Ran-kun as well?" Agasa followed in surprise.

"So I must do as they say. Tonight, at 8:00 exactly I will be at Beika plaza." Said Conan under his breath.

"But you can't, you'll be killed!" Haibara yelled out.

"Then you say that Ran is okay to be killed, do you?" Conan turned angrily.

Haibara stood with her mouth open but no words came from her lips.

Time had passed quickly. It was 7:30; Conan paced back and force at the lab.

"Shinichi, I've made some upgrades to your mechs. First, your watch can now shoot 5 times now instead of once. Here is some ammunition as well. He handed Conan a small box and continued, "The blue ones are sleeping needles, the red the paralyzing needles, and the purple are toxic needles. I've put 5 of each so I'm sure it is enough for you to use.

At 7:55 Professor Agasa dropped him infront of Beika plaza and left looking back with concern as he drove away.

A balloon sat next to the entrance with a note on the top. "To Shinichi Kudou" It wrote.

Conan took the balloon to his hand and held the string as the balloon struggled to fly away. 8:00, the bell at the big clock beside him rang furiously. A sudden pop came from the balloon as an object swiftly flew through it. A dart had stroke the balloon and was stuck on the dirt below. He looked around and caught a dark figure in the corner of his eyes. The figure looked up and smile then turned around and ran.

'Gin!' The young hero dashed away after the cloaked man, dodging civilians while keeping his eyes on target. 'His leading me, I best be on my guard.' His heart pumped more and more rapid as he madly tried to keep up. The moon was making its way slowly up the sky.

Gin made a sudden turn down a small passage that lead to an ally behind an Italian restaurant. Conan chased behind swiftly. There he was face to face with his foe with a evil smile.

Mean While

Ran woke up feeling dozed and looked around. She tried to get up but came to a sudden realization that her ankles and hands were bound tightly. She rolled over and took view of the place she was in and remembered that she had been kidnapped by two men in dark trench coat who gave her smell some chemical that landed her in the, what seems to be, a hanger. She noticed one of a man sitting in front, smiling cruelly at her struggle.

"You are awake I see." The man said calmly.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Do you really wish to know? If I tell you, I am going to have to kill you," the tubby man replied with a sarcastic tone. "You see, we have no business with you personally. But we do require something from that tiny boyfriend of yours."

"What are you talking about? You mean Shinichi?" Ran blushed slightly at the criticism of her being the detective's girlfriend. Her eyes opened realizing what she believed were going on.

These people must be some sort of criminals that Shinichi was after all this time. That must be why he left. Wait a minute…This man, I've seen him somewhere before. Where was it….WAIT I remember. This is the man from the amusement park! The one that budged the line to get on the roller coaster that day. This must be the reason why Shinichi was away. He was after these guys………Shinichi…..

"What do you want with me!" Ran demanded.

"Do you want to know how much your boy friend really like you?" the tubby man whispered.

"What?" said Ran giving a confused look.

"We shell see if your boy friend is really your boy friend." Said Vodka expanding his smile.

"What are you saying?" Ran questioned.

"Oh! I see have not yet told you about another woman that his been helping," Vodka replied.

"Another…woman?" Ran's voice came down to uncertainty.

"That is correct, Aniki had decided to be kind to him and offered him a choice. You see, we do not wish to kill innocent people as much as people believe we do. Your life is upon his hands. He has the choice of choosing you, the woman he loves, or Shiho, the woman he spent so long protecting from us." Vodka walked over and kneeled down in front of the teen.

Ran's eyes widened. She did not know what to think. She knew the Shinichi could not make the decision such as this. She looked down to her knees. Shinichi…..

End………..

Ch3.

Start of the Count Down

Ran's thoughts 

Gin smiled at the anger of the tiny follower and still couldn't believe that this little boy could have been the famed high school detective Kudou Shinichi that he thought he had killed. "Well, who is it going to be Kudou…Shinichi!" he laughed.

Conan's eyes glared with fury behind his thick glasses. Vapor condensed on to his forehead as he thought of the matter knowing that he could not make a decision.

Gin saw this a laughed out loud, "I'll make this more interesting for you detective. I will give you 10 days to think the problem over in your head. The choice is yours, but if you are not able to give an answer by then, you, your girl friend, and that stupid woman that escaped from the organization will be tracked and hunted down one by one."

"Why you…" Conan lowered his brows.

With that, Gin dashed away into the night. Conan did not follow; he knew that it was pointless. He walked back to the Detective office, not knowing what his going to do the entire way back. He turned the knob slowly and entered the room. Mouri was sitting in front of the T.V. reading his newspaper. "Hey shrimp, do you know where Ran went? I'm starving!" he called out.

Conan hesitated but answered trying to be cheerful, "Oh, I think she went with Sonoko-neechan to some party. She says she's going to be away for the next week or so, so do what ever."

"Huh? How come I never heard about this?" Mouri replied.

"I think Shinichi-niichan is going too." Conan added in sudden cover up.

"Damn it. That bastard better not be doing anything to my daughter. If he as much as lay a hand on her, I sware I'm gonna…" Moori said with agitated anger. "Speaking of which, what the heck are we going to do for supper now!"

"I don't know, but I'm not hungry. I'm going to bed." Conan turned his head and walked up the stairs.

"What's got him all tired. I'm not that bad when it comes to cooking am I?" Moori mumbled to him self.

Ten. (Count down)

The next morning Conan left to see professor Agasa's house. His hair was a mess and bags were under his eyes showing how he didn't get much of any sleep the pat night. His shirt wasn't tucked, his tie wasn't tied. The tiny boy walked down the street with a confused expression. He rang the bell and waited for an answer. As he stood, I was wondering what could be happening to Ran at that moment.

The door opened and out came the professor in his usual joyful mood. Upon catching site of the shape of his comrade that stood before him, he jumped in surprise, "Shinichi! What happened to you, your cloth, your hair… your face, and why aren't you at school? What happened last night."

"I need to talk," Conan dragged himself into the room and lowered his weight on the sofa. From your expression I can see that things didn't go well last night?"

"Yea… Is Haibara home?"

"No, she is in school now."

"Good."

"What is it that you come here for, its not like you to skip school even with this case that's going on."

Conan raised his head. His eyes were blank and for the first time, the professor saw him completely lost of what to do. Conan lowered his head back down and explained the details of his chase from the past night. By the time the story was over, the professor had gone through five glasses of water and had the most serious face that Shinichi had ever seen in all the years he had known him.

"I really don't know what I might do now but I will think of something…I hope" Conan said.

"I shell keep my mouth shut about this subject to Ai-kun but this is not good." The professor pushed his brows together forming a few wrinkles at the middle.

Mean While

Ran sat quietly, leaning against a few boxes that were lying around the floor. She could hear the voices of her captor in the next room.

"Ten day? That's a bit long isn't it aniki?" Vodka blurted out.

"I suppose that I have gone a bit too generous on that matter as well. But whats done is done. I would love to see the look on that kids face now. The look of fear that in his hand holds the lives of two woman."

Would Shinichi choose me? He must choose me! He care about me does he not? ….I'm so selfish. Shinichi, I don't care who you choose. I'll love you either way.

"Don' worry Vodka, when the time comes, I will give you a good show. But up until then, don't lay a hand on that woman. Give her what she wants in terms of food and water, we need her to be at the best of shape when she sees her beloved again."

"Huh, what do you mean a good show?" the tubby man asked.

"Patients Vodka patients. When the time comes we shell decorate the night with my favoriate color!"

End…

Sub Chapter

The Wonderer

This is a subchapter so it doesn't exactly count as one. Think of this as part of Chapter three.

'Conan's thoughts'

The sun was gliding slowly down behind the hills, lighting up the clouds with a golden orange tinge around its edges. The sound of children playing passed through his ears as he sat quietly alone on the swings. Screeching of the chains above him was like the cries he could feel within his heart, each time amplifying the pain he felt upon his chest. He watched all the kids, some younger, some older, and all chatting with much ease and happiness. Their laughter, their joys, how he longed to be one of them, with not a worry in the world but to please their parents with their grades in school. He looked up to the skies yearning for a sign of what he should do; yet he knew nothing would help him.

"Tell me what I am to choose. I can not do this, I can not take one's life with my hands." He spoke softly.

The boy covered his face with his hands and stopped the swinging with his feet. He sat there hunching his back in an arch with his head on his knees separated by is palms. 'Its all my fault. That day at the amusement park, I had to go stick my nose into matters I shouldn't have that caused all this. Its all…my…fault' He couldn't cry, he did not know why but he couldn't.

The sun has set, all was quiet and not a soul stirred in the park. All but one, the little boy still sat in the same position has he was hours ago. He could feel pain down his back for staying in the same way for so long but he didn't care. His mind was in a hysterical confusion and his very bones shrieked with sorrow.

'Why? Why do I have so much trouble with this decision? Why do I confuse the choice between Ran and Haibara? Ran is the one I love, and Haibara is the one that I'm suppose to not trust. All this time and she still haven't yet told me her real age. Then why do I hesitate?'

"Don't worry! When things get bad, I'll be there to protect you. I promise," The words of his vow flared in his mind.

'Is that it? Is that what keep me from my decision?' He pondered for a moment. 'Yes, it is it.' He smiled, 'Perhaps I shell break that promise, it will make my life a whole lot easier. Without her, I can get my Ran back and just be the ordinary Conan until the professor comes up with a cure someday. No more dangers for me or Ran, just live peacefully solving minor cases as old man Mouri.'

He raised his head and gave it a quick shake. 'What am I thinking! Am I really stooping down to that low. If I did what I just said, wouldn't that make me just like Gin? The woman came to me in seek of help. She trusted me, of all the people she knew in the world, she had chosen me to protect her because she knew that I wouldn't let her down. Yet, here I am all prepared to stick her out to the wolves so that I may escape while they feast upon her flesh. Have I really stooped down so low…No! Never! I will not!'

"NEVER!" Conan yelled at the top of his lungs. He stepped down from the swings and walked down the dirt road of the park until he reached a grassy hill. There he laid down looking into the skies with both his hands under his head as a cushion. The stars shined brightly that night. He tried to relax himself a bit by finding the constellations. His eyes glanced that the sparkling dots that hovered above and was caught on two particular sets.

'Andromada and Perseus' "Damn it!" he said as he turned to his side.

"From off a hill whose concave womb reworded  
A plaintful story from a sistering vale,  
My spirits to attend this double voice accorded,  
And down I laid to list the sad-tuned tale;  
Ere long espied a fickle maid full pale,  
Tearing of papers, breaking rings a-twain,  
Storming her world with sorrow's wind and rain."

William Shakespeare 

The lad lay there, whispering the poem under his breath. His eyes grew heavy and his muscles relaxed. The warm night wind blew down gently upon his face. He could feel sleepless night he had the past day slowly taking its tole over his wearied out body as sleep softly swept him of his consciousness.

He awoke the next morning with a gentle tug upon his side.

"Common kid, your going to catch a cold. A voice sounded kindly above him.

Conan's eyes took a little while to focus as he looked up to see who was talking to him. A young park maintenance employee peeked at him with a smile.

"Huh? Oh! I must have dozed off, thank you." Conan replied.

"Don't worry about it." The man gave him a nod then walked away.

Nine (Count Down continues)

End….

Ch4.

No Time for Moping

'Thoughts'

"Conversations"

RING

Conan walked in with as the late bell rang for first period. He took his usual seat by the wall next to Haibara. "Good morning Conan-kun." Ayumi called out energetically.

"Oh..Hi…" He replied coldly giving her a quick look.

"Conan-kun?" Ayumi looked with concern.

"It didn't go well with Ran-san that day did it?" Haibara asked.

"Worse then you think," he replied.

"She's not…is she?" Haibara's heart skipped a beat.

"No, she's still alive…in what condition I haven't got a clue." Conan said still not raising his head.

Time passes

"Okay class now for a verbal quiz. Don't worry, its not for marks so you don't have to panic." Akeko sensei called out as the moans and yays came out in a mixed answer.

"First off, Genzou-kun, please step up to the board." The teacher continued.

"Hai!" a clear reply came from the back of the room. The boy ran to the front and picked up a chalk waiting for his question.

"Lets start of easy. X+58 what is the value for X?"

"The boy wrote down each steps clearly and answered in confidense, "X3"

"Correct! Very good, next up, Edogawa-kun please step up to the front." The teacher continued. She saw the young man looking out the window into the clouds as though he was going to collapse any second ignoring her request, "Edogawa-san report to the front of the room, Now!" She called out again.

Conan snapped out from his thoughts and answered, "Hai…" Everyone could tell that he wasn't paying attention again as he always was. He walked to the front of the room and awaited his queston.

"Since your always the know it all, lets give you a tougher one." The teacher smiled.

"Okay…" He couldn't care less of what she said at that moment. He didn't even realize that the teacher was joking to him.

(Huh, his still not paying attention, fine I will give him a harder one, something I haven't teached. Maybe that will get his attention.) The teacher narrowed her eyes. "Alright then. Your question: 2y+3x4x+8y-160 Determine the value of X and Y" She said giving him a smirk.

Conan didn't even pick up the chalk and just as she finished asking him the question he gave his answer, "X1, Y -1.5" and he walked off from the front and sat down, leaving the rest of the class including his teacher speechless. Mrs. Akeko checked the answer at the bottom of her sheet and found that it was indeed the right answer.

Conan still didn't realize that he had made himself look too smart for an elementary school kid. His mind was still pondering away at the upcoming decision. All eyes were upon him as he walked back to his chair and took his seat. Haibara gave him a nudge on his shoulders and woke him from his day dreaming and realized what had happened.

"Huh? Oh! I read that question from my friend's brother just by accident and it just so happens that she gave me the same question so I knew it right away. Ha..ha..ha..?" He made a sudden excuse for his genius mistake. The class gave a sigh and the teacher continued.

Ring

"YEA Lunch time. My period of the class!" Genta said excited, as he pulled his lunch from his desk.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" Mitsuhiko said holding up his chopsticks.

The detective boys had gathered around Genta's seat and was chatting away happily when Ayumi discovered that one of its members was a miss. "Conan-kun? Are you okay?" Ayumi called across the room.

The boy didn't reply. "Here let me go talk to him." Haibara stood up and walked over.

"Kudou-kun, you can't be like this. I don't know what happened that night but you can't act this way. For now, lets try to be a normal elementary kid, okay?" She put her hand on his shoulder as she whispered it into his ears.

"DON'T TELL ME HOW TO ACT!" Conan jumped up from his seat and slapped her hand away. Coming to a sudden realization of what he had done he stood there looking at his hand, "I'm sorry Haibara…" he apologized for his doings, turned, and ran out the door.

He bumped into his math teacher, Akeko-sensei, when he turned the corner. The teacher kneeled down to his height and smiled back, "It's okay. I can tell that you've got something on your mind today and I don't want to bother you too much. But just remember that if it's a bully then you got to tell someone okay?"

"Thanks Akeko-sensei, but this is some personal matter that I can't tell you of." The young boy replied.

"I understand." The teacher walked away glancing back at the little boy. She could see him standing there with his sorrow filled eyes behind his thick lenses.

'This time about, the bully is too big to deal with then just teachers.' He laughed to himself.

Mean while back in class

"What's gotten into Conan?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"His in a pissy mood today isn't he?" Genta added.

"His got some troubles in his mind. I'm sure he'll snap out of it soon enough." Haibara replied brightly though her eyes showed of concern for the young man. 'Kudou-kun….'

Conan was excused for the afternoon with the approval from professor Agasa's phone call, which he asked for. He walked around the city for the next few hours remembering the cold words to which Gin left him by, "I will give you 10 days to think the problem over in your head. The choice is yours, but if you are not able to give an answer by then, you, your girl friend, and that stupid woman that escaped from the organization will be tracked and hunted down one by one."

Each syllable echoed painfully in his mind. He had returned to the park at the grassy area where he spent the night the day before and looked up to the skies. He found a small sense of relaxation here as though the light of the heavens is beaming down upon him relieving him of some of his sorrows.

"What are you doing… Laying down at a place like this." A familiar voice came from behind him.

He turned his head, "Haibara!"

"Tell me what happened that night Kudou-kun?" She whispered.

"I…can't do that." He replied pensively.

"Why not? I'm not stupid you know. If there's anything I could do to help then I would do it!" Haibara jolted putting her hands to her waist.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Conan replied. His pupils were shaking slightly but were enough for the girl to notice.

"You're afraid of something, I can tell for I've seen those eyes many times before." Haibara said.

"Damn it, just leave me alone for now okay?" He yelled as his eyes changed to anger.

Haibara's eyes opened up a bit wider. "Kudou-kun, You can't go on like this. You have got to snap out of this phase your going through RIGHT NOW!"

"Why should I! There's nothing else I could do! You just don't understand that's all!"

SLAP

A sudden burst of pain shot the little detective across his face. "What are you doing!" he was about to say more when he saw tears building in her eyes.

"I don't understand? I'm the one that dragged you into this mess ever since I led that stupid experiment on the drug. You think I don't understand the pain you feel? I was the cause of the death of many innocent people. I was the cause of my sister's death. I was the cause of your current condition and you tell me that I don't understand? Its you who's the one that doesn't understand. You have no clue of the pain that aches in my heart on a daily bases. I wish I could just die and let all of this slide off of my shoulders but how can that alone do any good to all those who suffered because of me?"

Conan opened his eyes not knowing what to say nor do.

"That's not all," Haibara continued, "Do you know why that I haven't killed myself, Kudou-kun? Its because I believe. Its because I believe in the fact that even I can do something. I've locked myself in professor Agasa's lab sometimes for hours at a time trying to find a cure. That's the thing that I can do for all who suffered because of the drug I came out with. I do that because it is the only thing in my mind that I can think of to repay my mistakes. And yet I see you here moping. What happened the clever Kudou-kun that always had something up his sleeves? What happened to the famous detective that would rest at nothing to stop the organization! You want to quit? Well, I'm not going to let you quit Kudou-kun."

"Heh" Conan laughed.

"Whats so damn funny?" Haibara asked. Tears had left a trail upon or face and a red circle around her eyes at where she had rubbed.

"You're right Haibara…Your right. I guess something came over me. Thank you." Conan answered as he leaned forward and put his arms around her. "I'm sorry I worried you," He whispered into her ear.

Haibara was shocked at first but then she accepted his hug. She put her head down onto his shoulders and there she stood, weeping from the unstable condition she was in.

They stood there for a few minutes then Conan pushed her away and gave her a smile. "Don't worry Haibara, I will rescue Ran and protect you, even though I have no clue how. Don't worry I will come up with a plan! Even if it means giving up my own life…

There's no more time for moping,"

Haibara stood there confused about what he meant. The wind blew through her short cut hair as she watched him run out the park. An unusual good feeling came upon her as she stood there on the grassy hill. A feeling that said, everything was going to be all right.

End….

Ch5

**Disclaimer**: I only own up to episode 129 and 2 specials afterwards. If episodes were released based on the character's history that I write about in this story and is different from what I write then I'm sorry. The only thing I know about the character was that he didn't want to face Haibara face to face so that's what I'm working with for this chapter, Enjoy :-p

Time Forgotten Love

A man sat in his office. He lit a cigarette and leaned back against his chair. From his window, he gazed outside; the soft yellow light from his lamp reflecting on the glass panes of the window. It was silent. The pinpricks of far-off light posts are all he could see against the yellow reflections from within. It was dark. Darkness, that was thick, envelopes all outside, and the few lights from windows served as sanctuary from the abyss. There was no wind, save a soft puff of icy breath once every so often, gently swaying the tops of the trees outside. The light flickered in his pupils as he covered them swinging down his eyelids.

……………………………

"Look at that girl over there! She thinks she's so smart from getting the top grades." A girl grunted to her friends as she spotted the brunette young woman down the hall.

"I bet she thinks she's above everyone. That's why she never tries to talk to anyone and always work alone," another girl hissed out.

The young woman passed by and looked upon them with the corner of her eye which she quickly took back after she realized that her look was discovered.

"What are you looking at you nerd?" The girls snarled and laughed as they saw their prey leave with a sad angry look.

The woman continued to walk in silence. Her blue skirt swayed with the bounce of her steps. Her smooth long hair slid all the way down to her back and her front bangs came down just above her eyes, covering her brow. Her long fingers gripped tightly at her bag handles; carried by both hands in front of her round smooth knees. Her steps grew wider as tears began to rush out of her hazy blue eyes. She wiped gently with one hand then clutched her aching heart. Her rose petal lips trembled slightly as she bit down upon them to keep them from growing out of control.

"Don't cry, that's what they want you to do."

She spun around in heist surprised about the comment and curious to find out who was it that spoke the words. A young man, slightly older than her stood there stroking his dark afro smiling gently to her. He had unusually white skin, pale almost. He wasn't all too tough from appearance but from the looks he was in a farley good shape. Something about his smile gave her comfort; they were so pure, so warm, so different from what she usually get: The smirks on people's faces when they cussed her out and brought her down. The only time she could remember seeing such smile was when her older sister had come to see her or when she had returned to Japan to see her. She relaxed and smiled back, "Thank you."

"Besides, the site of tears upon your beautiful face is just too unbearable to see." The young man continued smoothly.

The Blushed slightly hearing the words of flattered and turned her eyes away.

"May I buy you a drink at the café downstairs?" the man asked in the up most polite manner.

She hesitated for a few moments unsure of his intentions but soon gave in to his smile. She accepted the invitation with a light nod and walked down with him.

The steamy aroma from the coffee tickled her nose as the fumes climbed up into the air. She swirled the drink slowly with a spoon, dissolving the sugar and milk, being careful not to spill any on her white long sleeved shirt. She kept her back straight and sat on the brown wooden chair with her other hand tensely gripping her dress. It was the first time that anyone has asked her to a cup of coffee, or anything friendly for that matter except for her sister, so she didn't know how to act nor speak in such situation. She lifted the tiny cup from its saucer and the water inside vibrated slightly. Realizing what her hand was doing she quickly placed the cup back down making a clank on the dish.

"You don't have to be so nervous. I'm not hear to make you feel uncomfortable." The man said, "I've noticed you around campus, always alone and never with anyone else. Some say you think you're better than all of us but I don't see that in your eyes. Your eyes are always filled with emotions, some of which I cannot understand. I asked you to come today because I wish to get to know you, the real you. You don't have to tell me all the personal things which you maybe handing but perhaps you could at least tell me your name?"

"My name is Miyano Shiho," She whispered quietly staring into her coffee afraid to look up, "Thank you for your treat, I appreciate your kindness Mr…"

"Ha ha, you do not have to be so formal just because I'm older than you," he laughed cheerfully, "My name is Akai Shuichi, its nice to meet you Shiho-san"

"It's nice to meet you too," she kept her eyes where they were.

"You don't get out much do you? Your very shy even for a girl." Shuichi criticized.

"I'm sorry, " she said, "Its just that…no one, other than my sister, has been so nice to be before. Wherever I went, people gazed at me with…those eyes, those horrible eyes. But you, your eyes are different from them. When you called me earlier upstairs, your eyes didn't show anything like the eyes I've grown accustomed to. That is why I accepted your invitation Akai-san."

The young man laughed and relaxed into his chair, "Well for starters, please call me Shuichi. You don't have to act so formal in front of me, I'm not a teacher. A person's eyes can sometimes say more than their mouth. One look and you would be able to tell weather that person is sad, happy, in pain, troubled, confused, and sometimes can even tell if they are a friend or a foe. They can lie through their mouth but can't through their eyes. That is why people look away when they lie. From your eyes I have observed a grief to which even I would probably have a hard time to understand. Though I can see that you aren't what they say you are. You are smart and beautiful and you are a kind hearted young lady. You've over come many adversities in your life and you even now you are having troubles in trusting me or not."

Shiho looked up in astonishment on the man's nearly perfect definition of her.

"I could tell all that from just your eyes. Your life is filled with complications, complications of which I probably should not find out. " He was about to continue when he saw her surprised look striking on her face, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go on like that. You see I've got special interests in people behaviors and things of those sorts. You could say it's my hobby haha.

"No, that is fine. I think I should be going now. I still have something to take care of." Shiho said nodding a good bye.

"Wait, may I see you again? Perhaps to a movie or restaurant next Saturday night?" Shuichi called out.

"You are asking me out?" Shiho replied in surprised.

"If you wish to call it that then I have no problem." The man said with a slight blush upon his cheeks.

Shiho stood there dumbfounded for a short while. She had never been asked out by a man before, ever. "I would be happy to…Shuichi." She said as she turned and walked away. A mile came on her face as she walked with her back turned to the handsome young man with his heart thumping hard after hearing the reply.

Shiho got to her dorm sometime after midnight that day, still thinking about the young man who had asked her out earlier. A woman waited for her return while she sat on the bottom bunk bed combing her white silky hair. "Welcome home Sherry." She said in a chilling voice.

"Belmot, you're still up? I thought you would have gotten to bed hours ago." Shiho replied hanging her coat on the coat rack.

"Who was that boy you were talking to earlier today?" asked Belmot.

"Why would you wish to know?" Shiho glared.

"Because I am your guardian at the moment. It is my duty to know!" the woman demanded.

"He asked me out today. Okay?" Shiho gave in.

"Did you accept it?"

"Yes"

"Absolutely not! You know the rules of the organization!" Belmost screamed.

"Why not. I'm no longer a child you know. Is it so wrong for me to have a life? All my life I've lived cursing this stupid organization for making my life so miserable. All my life I've been seeking someone who would like me for who I am and not run away. I finally think I've found that person and you want to take it away from me. Why?"

"Wow, I think you're serious this time." Belmot noticed the determination in Shiho's eyes, "Ha, you've grown up sherry. Fine I will let you have your little fun but remember, if one word leaks from your mouth then it would mean certain death for you and the boy." The woman gave a criminal grin that made Shiho feel a vibration down her spine but she remained still.

Saturday Night

Shiho awaited her date at a bench on a lawn of her campus. She sat nervously playing with the sparkling flakes upon her red dress. Her smooth legs were tucked neatly under the bench as though an imaginary rope had tied them together. Her hair dangled loosely over her shoulders as they split in two from the back. She had some minor make up on such as lipstick and facial powders. Her soft skin glowed tenderly under the street lamp of the cold damp night. The whispering of the winds sang out a hewing base chord as it clashed with the leaves on the trees near by as the crickets' songs filled the upper sopranos. The grass waved peacefully under the silver moon, raining its light brightly allowing her to see with great details even to the distant areas of the field. A river trickled in the distance, which is where the field ended its stretch. Lights of the opposite bank danced in the flowing water in an amazing show of hazy orbs that connected from one to the next. To her, everything that she heard, smelled, felt, looked, was all beyond greatness. She sat there anxiously awaiting her first Romantic outing.

It was 10 minutes past the time prearranged when a young man came around the corner. A white suite and a matching pair of white pants completed with a pair of white shoes. He held in his hands a bouquet of red and blue rose in his hands. He ran over to his date who stood from her seat and was now walking to greet him of his late arrival.

"You're late," Shiho said brightly.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to choose the best of flowers for you." He laughed.

"I'm flattered," Shiho said in a sarcastic tone.

"I've booked a restaurant at the observation deck of Carolyn Tower. I hear that the restaurant actually rotates, isn't that amazing? Then we can go watch a movie, your choice, my treat. Afterwards, I will walk you to your house or dorm or what ever thus ending our night." He announced the schedule, "Well? Is that okay with you?"

"What ever you say." Shiho said taking a sniff from the fresh roses.

The rest of the evening went quite smoothly. The dinner was delicious, the movie was just another chick flick but Shuichi didn't care. There was a beautiful woman of his dreams to which, he never thought would like a man such as him, was sitting beside him with her head rested on his shoulders. They walked slowly, talking, chatting, taunting to the very last step in front of her dorm room.

"You don't have to worry about what others say about you. Just be yourself and people will come to you if they feel like it." Shuichi looked over.

That phrase was the only phrase that Shiho didn't reply to that night.

A while later they reached the front door of Shiho's dorm room.

"Thanks Shuichi. I had a wonderful time tonight." Said Shiho as she leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. Shuichi blushed furiously as he stood there holding the area of attack gently with his hands.

Months After That Night

"Shuichi!"

The young man turned to his girlfriend waving to announce his location. Shiho dove into his arms and gave him a kiss. "What was that for?" he laughed gazing into her eyes.

"Just a congratulations on your graduation from Law." She smiled softly.

"I appreciate your appreciation for my accomplishment very much…how about some more?" He joked.

"Jerk!" Shiho responded angrily as she flicked his forehead, "So are you going to be becoming a lawyer now?"

"Hmm, maybe. But I've always loved James Bond movies ever since I was a child. I want to be an agent just like him someday." He answered looking up into the sky fantasizing his future.

A sudden sense of insecurity ran through Shiho when she heard those words. She pushed them aside at the time not knowing that it will come back to haunt her later one. "But that's just a fiction, real agents don't do that you know."

"I know, but you didn't have to tell me it so straight up. You're so…unimaginative some times." He laughed giving her a side-glance.

"Well excuuuuse me!" Shiho huffed and stuck out her tongue immaturely.

"Whoa, you cut your hair short?" Shuichi asked in surprise.

"Yea, I did it this weekend after taking your advice." She smiled.

"My advice? When did I give you advice about your hair?" Shuichi questioned in a confused dilemma.

"Remember? You told me to be my self. I left my hair long because of my sister. I wished to be like her, I respected her, and I admired her. But now I'm starting over. I want to become someone different. I no longer want to live in my sister's shadows. This haircut to me represents a new start. I guess I should thank you for giving me that confidence." She kept her smile.

Shuichi stood there blinking, "Uh… Don't mention it." He had forgotten about it completely but decided to reply anyways to keep her in her good mood.

Few Days Later

(Shiho's Dorm room)

"What do you mean I can't see him any more!" Shiho screamed out.

"He has now become a dangerous figure for the organization." Belmot said calmly as she sat on the wooden chair beside the bunk bed.

"His not dangerous, what are you talking about."

"Sherry, he wants to be part of the police force. I think I've already been generous in letting you date him for so long as it is. If I let you go on like this then there's no telling when he will be killed and you know that!" The woman's silver hair reflected the florescent light above as she ran her hair through them.

"But I love him Belmot!" Shiho cried out.

"Love is a dangerous thing Sherry, especially for someone like you to have."

"Damn it Belmot, have you never had anyone you loved? How can you be so cold all the time with that one poker face of yours? How could you live so emotionlessly? I can't imagine me being like that some day, eech!" Shiho shivered.

Belmot's eyes opened slightly as if to remember something from her past. It was hard to tell as her face never changed too much between different moods just like a certain some one is as of now. She looked pitifully at the woman in front of her. "Fine, I'll talk to the top some how. Maybe as long as that boy stays as a minor officer they can allow you two to be together. Just don't go on blabbing cause then I won't even be able to help you."

Shiho relaxed her eyes, "Thank you Belmot."

"You're just lucky I'm not like Gin. I doubt that he would have even let you date him to begin with. As a matter of facts I think he would have killed the boy the first day he met you." Belmot laughed.

2 year passes by

. Lightning shot across the skies with immense roar of anger that seem t echo in one's ear for minutes later, each spreading far and wide as though the skies had received massive earthquakes that cracked the clouds into billions of pieces. The cement ground seems to cry out in pain from the relentless pounding of the rain as they shot out from the heavens. Trees bent to one side and the autumn leaves were blown clear off from where they once nested for the past six month. The dense winds howled and screamed as it traveled across the city.

Two figures stood among these horrid conditions, a man and a woman, both with tears rushing from their eyes hidden by the rain fall. "Why did you not tell me this before Shiho, or should I call you Sherry!" The man demanded furiously as an FBI badge hung from his waist blowing in the wind.

"I didn't want to hide it. I was scared! I was scared…for the both of us. If I had said one word out of my mouth, the organization would have surely killed the both of us on the spot. I love you Shuichi and that's why I couldn't!" Shiho yelled back in agony.

"You don't love me. You were just looking out for yourself. You just wanted to stay alive for your own fears, you couldn't careless about me. All this time it was a lie, and what you are saying now is probably one as well." Said Shuichi coldly.

"That's not true! I'm not…"

"How can I be sure? You managed to lie to me all these years without me noticing!" Shuichi cut in before she could finish.

"Please Shuichi, I'm sorry…" Shiho pleaded.

Click—

The young man pulled out a handgun and pointed to her head. "No, stop! That's enough! I don't want to hear about it anymore. Beat it! I never want to see your face again."

Shiho's eyes widened as she lost all the strength in her legs and fell to her knees. She was all out of words to say. Her mouth moved but no sound came through. Only the pouring of the rains filled the painstaking silence that came in.

Shuichi lowered his gun and put it back into its holder and said almost whispering, "The next time we meet, it will be me putting you behind bars."

The young FBI agent walked off into the misty rain as he left his beloved criminal in the cold wet floor. There, Shiho sat for some time weeping with the sounds of the storm covering her cries and the poring of the rain-washed away her tears.

………………………………………

The fire on the lit cigarette stick had now burnt through most of its fuel. The man took in one last inhale before he smudged it into his plate. He looked down pensively at the photo of the current Sherry with an "X" marked upon her face that they took from Belmot's hideout and studied her features carefully as he stroked her cheeks with his finger.

End……

Ch6

'Thoughts'

"Speeches"

I Believe

Eight….(Time moves on!)

A small stream of hazy light sneaked in through the window of the shack where the brunette girl was now kept. The shack was small and appeared old from the inside. Few pieces of rotting wood was spread along the gray dusty cement floor, and a few areas of clearance marked the spot where someone had stepped on . The only view of the outside world was a muddy window above the rusty metal door that was tightly locked from the other side. Spider webs can be found on nearly every corner concealed by the dark, though all was long abandoned by its host. The air felt dead; the same feeling as the air would feel in a dead man's coffin. Nothing organic can be seen except for the patches of mold that crawled up the sidewalls, decorating with its stomach turning color. Its foul smell infested the room with a nauseating odor that wasn't unbearable but definitely undesired. A few glows pierced in from the leaks upon the roof, if one can call two giant sheets of metal leaning up against one another a roof. The wooden pillars that may have once seemed mighty and strong that held the hut from falling apart was now cracking and splintered in many different locations, just barely sustaining its weight upon its withered stature. The entire structure appeared to be able to collapse with under its own weight.

The girl lay with a sad expression upon her face. She didn't care about any of the imperfections of where she was. Two days passed and she has had nothing but dry bread and a glass of water twice a day. Her body felt drained of all energy as she laid, curled up, on the frosty floor. Dust flew up with every breath she took, carried off by the wind made down to her arms where they had now collected into a small pile. Her once white and beautiful skin now charcoaled by the dirt that roamed freely in the hut. Mud tracks showed where tears walked down from her eyes. The sound from the highway calls sounded in the distance, against the voice of the river that sang near by. She licked her dry lips though her mouth felt equally dry. The taste of dirt rushed into on to her tongue, forcing her to sit up and spit out its tracks along with a few coughs. She watched the door every so often in hopes that her savior would dash in and sweep her away, but each time she was disappointed. Through the tiny crack upon the metal frames, she could see the tubby man who was left to guard her. Through all this time, she did not see any sign of the other taller man with the blond hair, who called himself Gin. Only occasional phone calls came to the tubby man as he explained that everything was fine.

The lock of the door juggled and was followed by a snap. The door opened, slamming against the wall to which it pivoted upon. The man walked in carrying her usual meal upon a metal plate. A cold glare shown from the inside of his glasses as he lowered the prisoner's food then walked out slamming the door shut once more.

Ran took the glass of water and drank it down in one gulp. A sense of refreshment ran through her body. She could feel the skin upon her arms and legs loosening slightly as she leaned her back against a wooden crate near by. Letting out a sigh, she gazed down at the piece of bread she held in her hand and tore a small piece off. She chewed it slowly, for the longer time she spends eating this meal, the less she will have to wait for the next.

She no longer cried nor feared. She knew that no matter how much she cried, screamed, fought to get her out of the mess it won't change the situation one bit.

A smile rose across her face; a sad smile. She looked at her gray palm then took stroked her tangled hair. The only thing that kept her together was the memories of the boy friend she never admitted to. How she wished now, knowing that she may never see her lover for if he does not chose her, to tell him her true feelings. How she yarned for one more stupid remark that he would say to her right now, just to see his carefree face. Regret filled her hollow mind as she remembered all the times the young boy helped her, played with her, encouraged her, and even made fun of her on every chance he had. The two joking around giving empty threats. The times to which he had made her cry but always came back to make her feel better.

She put down her lunch on her lap as she chewed the last piece she had put in her mouth.

Flash Back

"The Legend of the Red Thread?" Conan and Kogoro coughed out as they stuck their heads forward with a confused look upon their face.

"That's right! You know…that that legend that says that the two people who were meant to be together is connected with a red thread since the day they were born to this world." Ran explained showing her pink cheeks.

End Flash Back

'Was I really meant to be with Shinichi?' she wondered in the back of her mind. 'or is this person…Sherry that the two black male described…was she the one that was truly meant to be with him'

Flash Back

Shinichi: "Wait for me Ran!"

"I'll return one day!"

"I wish for you to wait for me!"

Conan: "Shinichi-niichan said…He will return one day and he wishes for you to wait for him until that day arrives."

End Flash Back

'Waiting…it seems all I've done is waiting. Every time he shows up but then disappears once more. Well now at least I know what his been up to all this time. How ironic…before I was dieing to find out what he was doing, and now that I know…I wish that I had never found out.'

Ran sat back further, looking back at the muddy window above the door. 'If Shinichi do choose her, will I actually accept his decision? Even if Shinichi choose me, will I be able to accept his decision? To choose either, he will still be the same as a murderer, will he not? "If my survival caused another to perish, then death would be sweeter and more beloved" (taken from Ooshi Kurai, Going down chapter 2. By: Kahlil Gibran) Should I…'

The door flung open once more as the man in black stomped his way in. "Common, get up! You're being moved again to a different location! You should think yourself lucky, aniki usually don't make deals with the ones he is going to kill but he holds special interest in your little boyfriend." Vodka said as he grabbed the girl by the rope of her bound hands, forcing her up to her feet like a slave.

"Where are you taking me?" Ran demanded.

"A special hotel, there you will get better food and a bed. We need you to stay with your figure once you meet your little friend again." Vodka said pulling on the rope indicating for her to march. Ran narrowed her eyes in hatred.

The classic porch sped away down the high way. Ran sat quietly in the back seat. She did not protest, she no longer had the spirit to protest. All she could do now was to stay alive and hope for the best.

They arrived at a tall hotel. Two poles stood tall and broad, holding the entrance to the building. It wore golden patterns upon its red painted body with two blue platforms for a shoe and a hat. Guests were rushing in and out of the building joyfully as two women greeted them at the automatic doors. A red carpet extended from the door down the short staircase to where the cars stopped and its passengers got out. A few young lads eagerly waited their turn to serve in hopes of a hefty tip. Vodka had cut the bounds on Ran's hands and explained to her that if she should try anything, she would be shot on the spot.

Ran's eyes sparkled as she entered the hotel and saw the chandelier above the large foyer where a young musician sat; playing a peaceful piece of music that calmed the nerves. It gave her a moment of relief and she had for a split second, forgotten about her dilemma. She was forced back to reality when she felt a light push upon her back and continued to walk.

They stopped in front of the customer services desk instead of the check in station where they lined up to wait for their turn. A young man noticed their arrival from the left side of the service desk and waved over. "Mr. Smith, over here please!"

Vodka nodded and went over, "For the usual reasons…" he whispered.

"Gin isn't with you today?" the man asked also whispering.

"No, he will be gone for the next eight days on a different matter. This one here is special so don't touch her or give her trouble. Gin requires her to be at a good shape when he comes back, got it?" Vodka ordered.

"Understood!" the man replied clearly then walked away from his post.

He led them to an elevator just left of the front desk. When the door opened, he waved his hand to the other customers that they were not permitted to enter it and pulled Vodka and Ran in. the young man then pressed a few floors in a pattern as the elevator rocketed upwards. The door opened into a dim lighted hallway with no windows and they walked out.

"Where is this?" ran asked looking around.

"The thirteenth floor," the young man answered politely.

Room 1306 was where they stopped. Vodka pressed some combination on the door and it was unlocked. He pushed the teen inside and shut the door with a slam. The room felt remarkably bright although it only had two light sources, three if you include the bathroom. Ran looked around the room empty room. Only a bed lay in the corner with a small lamp beside it. One bulb hung in the center of the room lighting the entire place. She took a seat on the bed. It was remarkably hard but non-the less better than where she had slept the past two days. A security camera was found at all 4 corners of the room to assure that there were no blind spots. She went to the small bathroom where she found a showerhead and a toilet, along with a small sink that was almost as though forced inside squeezed one to the next. She looked around but gave a sigh of relief to find hat at least there was no cameras inside. It was almost 5:00 when they had gotten to the hotel and Ran was tired from her past few days. Since there was nothing much she could do, she decided to at least try to make the best of things. She took a short shower to relieve some stress that got built up inside her. She dried her hair with a towel as she walked out from the bathroom, getting dressed back into her original cloth and collapsed on the bed. She fell asleep almost immediately, feeling the soft sheets against her damp drained skin.

'Shinichi…I know you can get out of this mess. Don't let me down, I believe in you…… so please…' with that one last thought she gave in to her exhausted body, both physically and mentally, as she slowly drifted away into her dreams.

Back at Home

"This might just work professor. I'm not sure how long though but I think it should hold long enough for him meets them again." Haibara called out to her partner.

"Yes, I just hope he won't die from it." The professor replied in concern.

"Don't worry, I got that covered as well," Haibara said confidently as she smiled down proudly into the microscope.

End…..

Ch7

"Speeches"

'Thoughts'

No More Time

"It looks like we've out done it this time Ai-kun," a joyful cheer came up the professors face that faded away with a long sigh of relief. Haibara stood next to him with a smile written upon her face, the rarely seen truthful smile that she managed to hide away in daily lives.

"What is it Professor?" Conan came running the stairs into the lab.

"We've finally made this!" the professor raised a bottle in his hands with a purple brown liquid inside.

"What is it?" Conan asked.

"Its…(RING), huh the phone. Hold up, I'll tell you right after I answer the call," the professor went to pick up the wireless he always kept in the lab, "Hello? Yes he is, please hold….Shinichi, its for you."

"Me? Who would call me other than…" Conan's eyes widened with fear of realization and snatched the phone from his hands.

"Hello?" he said with his teenage voice into the phone as sweat began to form on his head.

"Is this Kudou-Shinichi?" a deep voice rang over the receiver.

"Yea…Gin," he whispered back. Both professor and Ai was stunned and froze upon the spot. Their pupils enlarged with horror and their body seemed to shut down to the very last neuron.

"You know who I am, good that will make things quicker. I've decided to change the deal, 10 days was just too long a wait. The meeting will be in 6 hours at the same place, come or she dies." Gin chuckled evilly. The sound of his breath echoed painfully into the young detective's ears.

"What! That wasn't part of the deal Gin!" he exclaimed with outrage.

"I don't care, I make the rules around here! You have 6 hours, I hope you made up your mind." Gin continued to chuckle.

"What about Ran? What have you done to her?" Conan questioned.

"Oh, she's right here sitting quite obediently," Gin replied coldly.

"Let me speak with her NOW!" the tiny boy demanded behind his bowtie.

"Haha, Very well, I'll let you speak to your little lover (Sound of phone being hand over)" "Shinichi? Are you there Shinichi?" Ran cried out.

"Ran! Are you okay?" Conan blurted in concern.

"Yes, they haven't hurt me. What's going on Shinichi? What do these people want with you?" Ran asked and was about to continue but was cut off before she could speak.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out somehow," Shinichi called into the receiver with strength in his voice.

"I'm…scared," Ran's voice grew weaker and her breathing seem to settle as time ran by.

"The tough girl that could kick anyone's but that I know of is saying scared? Don't worry, leave things up to me," Shinichi said brightly trying to hide the fact that he has no clue what to do. He hadn't come up with a plan that would save both girls yet and time has been cut down enormously. Tears began to form in his eyes.

"I know about the decision they are forcing you to make Shinichi," Ran said softly.

Shinichi's eyes opened wide and he didn't know what to say. "It's okay Shinichi, no matter what you choose, I know you will make the right decision."

"Ran…" Conan whispered lightly.

"Shinichi…." She paused for a long time and a moment of silence hung in the air as she began once more to finish her sentence, "I love you.…"

The little detective's eyes opened wide and tears poured out, sliding down his cheek and clashing upon the floor.

"Ahh!"

"Ran what's wrong? Ran? RAN!" Conan yelled into the phone.

"How sweet, Remember you've got 6 hours," the phone clicked off with one final chuckle from Gin.

Conan turned around, tears still rushed down his face. His eyes were shaded by his bangs and his body quivered in a mixed feeling between anger, confusion, sorrow, and some of which words can not describe. He clutched his fist and looked up through his hair with one eye. He grabbed Haibara by her wrist, squeezing with enough force to make her try to twist her arm loose for it was giving her discomfort.

"Kudou-kun what are you doing? Let me go this instant!" Ai demanded.

The professor realized what was going on, "Shinichi, no stop! You can't do this, you haven't though things through!" He ran toward him, extending his arm to break him away from the little chemist.

Pssst

The professor fell to the floor with a heavy thud and looked up with the last ounce of energy and whimpered out, "Don't do it…" Before completely drowsing off.

"Kudou-kun, Whats wrong with you. Why did you do that to the professor? Let me go! You're hurting me, stop!" Haibara struggled furiously from his grasp with no luck, "Kudou-kun?"

pssst

" (Gasp) Ku…dou…kun….Why?" Haibara fell onto her knees into Conan's arms.

'I'm sorry Haibara, but I have to do this.' Conan thought in his mind. He had lost complete control of every part of his body and mind. He has become a soulless body that jumped onto the first instinct that came to his mind.

6 hours later

Haibara woke up, rubbing her head. She noticed that she was no longer in the comfort of her home and had been carried off to an ally. She sensed someone behind her and turned around to see who it was. A young man looked down upon her painfully with tears down her eyes. "I'm sorry" he said trembling on his feet. It seemed that he was about to fall over but he didn't, he just stood there shivering and crying.

"Kudou-kun?" Haibara spoke softly. The Conan she saw in front of her was so out of character that she didn't know what to say to him. He was a zombie and she was his pray. She could tell that he had received an enormous shock to his mind and now his eyes showed no signs nor will to live.

A black Porsche pulled over behind her. She spun her head quickly around to see what was going on. Her eyes opened in fear as she saw two men, dressed in black from head to toe, stepped calmly out of the classic 1950 car that shined in the afternoon light. The taller of the two stepped forward and pulled out his hand gun from his coat pocket.

"I see you've made your choice, Kudou Shinichi" he spoke with a large smile, "and long time no see…Sherry" His smile grew bigger as he raised his gun and pointed it toward them.

End…..

Ch8

'Thoughts'

"Speeches"

Last time

"What! That wasn't part of the deal Gin!" he exclaimed with outrage

"Shinichi…." She paused for a long time and a moment of silence hung in the air as she began once more to finish her sentence, "I love you.…"

Remember you've got 6 hours," the phone clicked off with one final chuckle from Gin.

"Shinichi, no stop! You can't do this, you haven't though things through!"

" (Gasp) Ku…dou…kun….Why?" Haibara fell

"I see you've made your choice, Kudou Shinichi" he spoke with a large smile, "and long time no see…Sherry" His smile grew bigger as he raised his gun and pointed it toward them.

Take a Gamble 

"Ran, what did you do with Ran?" The tiny detective commanded.

Vodka opened the back door to the car. Ran got out slowly, her hands tightly bound by a thin rope that provided certain discomfort that she was struggling to get it slightly looser. She seemed to be in the best of conditions aside from the part where she looks as though she hadn't had much sleep. Conan gave a sigh of relief and smiled at her safety. "What? Conan-kun? What are you doing here?" Ran gave a confused look.

"You didn't know?" Gin laughed, "This may get more interesting then I hoped."

"Ran…" Conan took of his glasses; a moment of silence pierced the ally. Gin still held his chilling grin watching the uneasiness between the two.

"You are…" Ran raised her brows.

"I was Shinichi," Conan spoke out looking to his side.

"You…lied to me this entire time? All those times you saw me cry for you, you just stood by and watched?" Ran bursted out in outrage, "Ho..How could you?" Tears ward overflowed from her eyes.

"I never meant to hurt you, I did this to protect you from harm. Please Ran, you must understand! I care about you so much, that's why I did what I did." Conan argued desperately, using hand signs as he spoke.

"How can you? How could you watch me worry about you, how can you watch me shed tears for you, how can you watch me…" Ran said rubbing the tears from her eyes, "living in sorrow everyday?"

"Enough of this, I came here to do an exchange, not watch you crumbs chitchat," Gin blunted out. His cold glare was like an arrow that pierced one's heart, shooting pain across the young detective's chest.

Haibara looked up realizing what was going on, "I understand Kudou-kun. I understand everything."

"I'm sorry," Conan said looking down on her sniffing his nose as tears dropped onto the cement floor.

Haibara got to her feet and looked over to Ran, "I don't care, I was willing to make a sacrifice like this from the start. Though I am kind of upset by your decision but I won't argue. I would probably have done the same if I was in your shoes." She gave a gentle smile back and took a step forward returning to her serious face.

Conan fell upon his knees and watched his hands tremble before his eyes. "I'm a murderer," he whimpered to himself.

"Go!" Vodka gave Ran a shove on her back.

The two began to walk until they met at the center, "I'm sorry," Ran cried softly."

"Don't be. Forgive Kudou-kun for what he has done to you. He does love you, his just never had the chance to tell you because he wanted to tell you with his true voice." Haibara shot her a soft smile before turning back and headed toward her certain demise.

Ran's eyes opened wide and turned her head back, watching the little girl walk by, 'Haibara-san was this Shiho person I see. I'm being freed but why do I not feel happy about it…like I need to think about that, I know exactly why.' She frowned to herself and continued to walk.

Haibara glared at the men in black harsher each step. She wasn't afraid and she didn't hesitate, each step was confident and strong until she stood in front of the two who smiled coldly. "You have me now, so leave them once you kill me. They had nothing to do with this to start with." She demanded.

Gin kneeled down and whispered to her ear. She turned around quickly and yelled, "Run Ran-san!"

Both the little detective and his girlfriend's eyes opened wide and looked behind.

BANG—

The picture of the teen falling forward from the thrust crashed hard upon both their eyes. Blood ran from her chest as she lay on the cold floor in silence. Conan dashed up to her with his heart thumping heavily in shock, "Ran, are you okay! Ran! Speak to me Ran!"

"He he he..Ha Ha ha ha," Gin laughed out loudly.

"You bastard, damn it Ran, common!" he glared at the shooter intensely as he tried to shake his beloved back to life. Tears rolled down his cheeks and landed quietly upon Ran's dying face. He can see her breath withdrawing with each passing second. Her heart rate slowed and color was fading upon her face until finally there was no more. Not a thump of pulse, not a gasp of breathe. The young woman lay dead in his arms.

"You bastard," Haibara cried out. Why did you not just kill me? She had nothing to do with this!"

"You? I can't kill you, the boss' request. But you can watch your favorite color decorate this lonesome ally. Just like your red wine, the color of blood soaked face upon a man's horrified eyes." Gin chuckled.

Gin walked over to Conan who had the most furious face that he had ever had on his face. "Does it hurt?" the tall man asked, "Don't worry, you will go soon too." Raising his gun he gave out a roar of laughter.

Conan raised his watch in reaction but he knew he wouldn't make it in time. His eyes opened wide with fear and rage. He gave one last look at the pale face of Ran then raised forward once more. Behind the black gloved finger that was applying pressure on the trigger, Haibara struggled to free her from Vodka and gave her one last glance which said, "I'm sorry".

Bang—

Conan's eyes opened wide, jumping out from his bed. Sweat had formed across his forehead. Light from the evening sun reflected from the windows of the large mansion that stood firmly on ground. The grass reached high, enough to hide one's knees. There was no wind and everything had tenseness as it remained on its spot with out any movement. The dead air would let anyone that came by this horrid place a sense of a mighty squeeze across his or her chest. It was unusually hot for early autumn that evening as kids walked by, wiping their sweat and licking away at their ice creams. The rusty gate that no one had used since month before was creaking lightly, rolling on the hinges as it woke from its long lasted rest. The dust that collected upon the floor had areas that had been carried off by the young man's feet that sat upon the second floor.

"It was…a dream?" Conan pondered in his room. Some light shot through his blinds, dimly lighting up his timid space. An empty basket lay on the desk beside the bed. He looked around, all was quiet, all except for the summer bug's cries. He watched the poster of Sherlock Holmes in his room and gave out a sigh, "There's no crime you can't solve is there Holmes? What will you do if you were in my shoes right now?"

Haibara looked over with concern out the kitchen window and gave out a long sigh. "He's been in there for three straight days now. Even when I brought him supplies, he doesn't open the door and just sits inside without saying a word," she said calmly putting down her teacup on the table.

Count Down Reaches 5

"But he still eat the things you leave him so I think he should be fine. I think all he need right now is some time to himself," said the professor.

"I guess there isn't much to worry about. His got his own way to tell you that things are going to be fine. He don't need to speak to you to communicate his thoughts," Haibara agreed, "The thing that I'm concerned most about is not that. I need to test that thing on him and if he don't come out soon, I'm going to have to drag him out."

"Drag who out of where?" a small boy leaned against the door way said with a smile on his face. A smile that no one had seen since the day of the kidnapping. A sigh of relief rose between the two, noticing that he was back to his usual self, at least he almost was. Shades of purple had appeared under his eyes just slightly and his eyes still showed signs of sorrow that he could not hide away with his laughter.

"Shinichi! What have you been doing lately?" the professor jumped with surprise.

"Just thinking of a plan," he replied calmly.

"And did you come up with one?" Haibara walked over and confronted him.

"No, not entirely at least." He answered.

The two scientists gave him a comforting smile to try and cheer him up. Conan looked over to Haibara in sorrow, remembering what he had done to her in his dream, then shifted his eyes to the side and shook his head.

"Something wrong?" Haibara asked, still holding her poker face.

"It's nothing…nothing at all," Conan answered softly.

"So, what brinigs you here?" Haibara asked trying to be cheerful.

"I just got a bit hungry and you haven't sent anything for the past 6 hours so I decided to drop by. Besides, I noticed that there was an urge in your voice so I figured you wanted to talk to me." He told still holding a smile, hiding the precipitation that was forming on his forehead.

"Common, lets get you cooled down first. I'll tell you it as you eat." Haibara pulled him in.

The professor heated some leftovers in the microwave and placed them on the table. Conan ate slowly, keeping his confused eyes on Haibara, " So what did you want me for?" he asked chewing down his food.

"I needed to borrow your blood sample," Haibara laughed, "I needed it for a test."

"A test" Conan raised an eyebrow.

"Yea, do you remember the 24 hour cure for your body? We've come up with a new upgrade of it that can keep you for 72 hours. Even though you will most likely be asleep for the first 10-12 hours from the change." She explained.

"Hmm, that could be useful." Conan said though he hid away his excitement, "Why would I be asleep for so long this time?"

"Kudou-kun, the new drug we made is extremely powerful. It will instantaneously raise the protein production in side every cell in your body. Think of it like a forced seizure only worse. This is at the best case scenario, for there is a high chance that it will activate and force the mitochondria of your cells to produce too much and destroy them period. Special type of enzyme will be created once the separation of the cells begin and mixes with a the chemicals in your body and it will…I guess melt your bones then reconstruct them I suppose. Don't worry, we've carefully calibrated it so that there is no distortions. Your hormones will also be activated to the extreme that will cause you to grow, the growth itself will take roughly 3 hours but it is a good sacrifice considering its long duration. Once your…transformation is complete, you will be a normal teenager again."

"Wait a minute, am I going to live through this?" Conan asked, opening his eyes wide.

"Don't worry, I've got another drug to help you go through with it. Its called HyponeuroG.A.B.A. This substance multiply the negative signal sent by the G.A.B.A. to keep most of the neurons from firing. This basically is like a paralysis drug that makes your entire body num. Hopefully, it will act throughout most parts of your body before the real drug takes effect so it will minimize the pain you will receive." She continued.

"And if this drug doesn't work?" Conan asked blinking his eyes.

"The you will be in for an entire minute of excruciating pain before losing consciousness and worst case scenario, death." She chuckled.

'is she laughing at my torment?' Conan thought in the back of his mind as a sweat drop rolled down his head. "And why the heck do you need my blood for?"

"Don't worry, we won't let that happen. Also, you will have four outbreaks before your time runs out. Once after 24 hours, next after 36 hours and so on until your time is up." Warned Haibara, "We needed some real samples to test out the drug on humans." She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Couldn't you just use your own or the professor's?" Conan sighed.

"It has to be of a child and had to be male. Even as a child, there are minor hormone difference between the male and female. Once I check that out, I can make a hypothesis on the largest amount that your body can support and give you the GABA according to it." She smiled watching the terrified look on his little friend's face, "But don't worry, we'll make sure that won't happen. I still have use for you"

"I bet you were a hard person to get along with," Conan spoke lowering his eyelids halfway down.

"I'll be right back, contacts are getting dry." Haibara turned her head to the washroom.

"You where contacts? How come I didn't know that" Conan realized in surprise.

"You never asked," she replied calmly.

Supper was now over and Conan was walking back to the agency as he rubbed the sore spot on his arm where a needle had just pierced through. He opened the door slowly and found the entire living room was compiled of a huge mountain of garbage. A hue of alcohol still roamed the room where a filthy detective laid on his chair, snoring from his sleep. "Boy, with Ran gone, he really don't know how to take care of himself." Conan whispered in disgust.

He dragged out a large garbage bag and started to clean. Kogorou's eyes flickered open when he heard the clanks and clunks of the beer cans and bottles hitting one another. "Huh, oh you're back? Where have you been all this time you little punk?" he demanded.

"I was with the professor, but never mind that, help me clean this place up!" Conan shot out.

"Yea, yea." He groaned and got up, "but I don't remember Ran telling me about a 10day vacation with Sonoko before. I'm going to have to talk to her about that when she gets back."

Conan turned his head sadly. Light relfcted one of his lenses that concealed his watering eyes.

"What is it now?" Kogorou asked noticing his pause in movement.

"Huh, oh nothing. I've got some studying to do so I'll be upstairs. Clean this mess up alright, just cause Ran-neechan isn't home doesn't mean that you can live like a slob." Said Conan and walked up the stairs.

"Yes mother, (hic up) immediately," Kogorou joked, "But man, why did you have to wake me, I was having such a good dream about winning the lottery. Maybe I should go buy one, they say dreams can come true."

Conan froze at those words, 'Dreams can come…true. That's it! That's the only way! I'm going to have to gamble but if it works, the entire organization may come crumbling down. Thanks a lot there old man, I guess you do come useful sometimes'

Later that night

RING—

"Hello," A man picked up the phone, putting his cigarette in his left hand, "What! Is he positive about this?"

"I don't know but it's the best shot we have, it almost worked last time with Belmot so lets give it a shot," Ms. Jodie said calmly and explained.

"Alright, I'll be ready." The man hung the phone and went back to his room. He sat down before the picture that was taken years ago. The colors were starting to fade inside the tiny wooden frame but he looked upon it with a smile, remembering his time forgotten love.

End…

Ch9

"Speeches"

'Thoughts'

Last time!

Bang—

Conan's eyes opened wide, jumping out from his bed.

"It was…a dream?" Conan pondered in his room

"do you remember the 24 hour cure for your body? We've come up with a new upgrade of it that can keep you for 72 hours."

"you will have four outbreaks before your time runs out. Once after 24 hours, next after 36 hours and so on until your time is up."

'Dreams can come…true. That's it! That's the only way! I'm going to have to gamble but if it works, the entire organization may come crumbling down.'

"Alright, I'll be ready." The man hung the phone and went back to his room. He sat down before the picture that was taken years ago. The colors were starting to fade inside the tiny wooden frame but he looked upon it with a smile, remembering his time forgotten love.

Secret is No More 

Flash back

"Kogorou, help me!" a young woman, no more than 24 called out with a fear consumed voice.

"Eri! Let her go, it's me you want!" Kogorou stood, panting from his chase.

An evil smile grew upon the culprit's face that made Kogorou's blood boil with rage. "I shall take my revenge upon you, you sorry excuse for a cop, on behalf of my girl friend who you sent away! Now it's your turn to lose the one you care about, ahaha!"

The young lad narrowed his focused eyes. The eyes that would not miss a single opportunity to rescue the one he loved. Every detail, no matter how insignificant, could not escape from those eyes.

The culprit raised his gun and pointed to Eri's temple as his smile grew larger. "Say good night…" he said mockingly.

End Flash back

Four. (Count down is passed half way)

"ERI!" Kogorou jumped up from his chair and immediately looked around to see where had the culprit gone to. He blushed slightly when he noticed that he had showed signs of concern for the woman he's suppose to hate. His head ached from the hangover he got the past night and looked around the clean room and remembered that Conan had come back. He staggered up the stairs, holding his sore head with one hand and was about to open the when he heard the sounds of whispers from within.

"…So professor, can you get it done before the time runs out?

Well I hope you do cause the Black Org won't wait for us…"

From the tiny opening, he could see a tiny figure pacing back and forth holding up his blue pendent in one hand and a ear piece to his ear with the other. 'What's up with this kid, what black organization?'

"I know Prof, but this is the only way to save Ran!"

Kogorou's eyes widened and his hangover seemed to disappear at the words about his daughter. 'Save Ran? What's going on!"

"I know I'm taking a risk but I don't care.

If we both must die then I shall die first!"

Kogorou swallowed the lump that grew at his throat and watched intensely at the little boy. 'That's the stupid brat that I know? …what does this mean?'

"You already know that they know my true identity, If I don't do this then they will eventually hunt down everyone that was involved! Ran, Hattori, Old man Mouri, and you, Everyone!" Conan lowered his voice listening for noises to see if his yelling woke up the sleeping detective. When he heard nothing, he continued, lowering his voice, "Anyways, can you make it for me?

Alright thanks…(Click)"

Kogorou stood up, fully stunned by what he had heard. His mouth was hung open and his eyes full of surprise and fear. His mind flipping back to all the cases he had solved, remembering how he didn't remember a thing about it. Remembering how the child always seem to give him hints when he was stuck. He watched the figure slowly walk to the door and took a step backwards.

Conan opened the door, not knowing that his conversation was over heard. He saw the detective standing before him, one hand lifted up as though he was reaching toward him and the other gripping the air tightly to his side. Sweat was forming on his face and he asked in a trembling angry voice, "Wh..Who are you?" as he pointed his shaking finger upon Conan's face.

Conan's eyes opened wide in realization and took a step back before answering, "What are you talking about Uncle Mouri? I'm Edogawa Conan haha..ha?"

Kogorou narrowed his eyes and bolted in, slamming the door on the wall and grabbed the child by his collar and lifted him to meet his glare. "No you're not, what is your true identity! What is the Black Organization! What happened…" he paused and swallowed before continuing, "What happened to my Ran?" the final question came out softly. His eyes changed to grief and desperation.

"Wh..What are you talking about, I don't know what you're saying uncle. Are you drunk again?" Conan tried to change the topic and gave a fake laughter.

"Don't humor me you brat! I know what I heard, I knew something was wrong when you told me that Ran had gone with Sonoko to a 10 day trip. She would never go without telling me, even if it means that kid detective is going too! Now tell me what happened to her!" he exclaimed, tightening his grip on the boy's collar.

"No, really I don't know what you're talking about," Conan wiggled to try and get away from his grasp all to end in vain.

"Yes you do, I bet you're some super gifted kid detective too aren't you. You came here because it got too dangerous at where you lived before cause people were after you. You came here knowing that someday we would be in danger, but you didn't care! As long as you're safe right!" Kogorou shook the boy almost losing thought in his rage, "Now tell me, where is Ran! Where is my daughter!"

Conan gave a side-glance and looked intensely at the detective. He could see tears forming in his eyes, tears of concerns for his daughter. He could hide it no more. He laughed in his mind at himself at how it was Mouri who was to find out the truth about him instead of Ran. He gave a grin and stopped his pointless struggling, "Alright I'll tell you…everything," he whispered.

Kogorou's eyes got slightly softer but one could still see a faint ember, burning in the back of the pupil. He lowered the little boy on his bed. Light from the window reflected keenly upon his thick lenses, and he could see the trees outside upon them, wavering in the silent wind.

"Would you like to sit down first, Mouri-san?" Conan spoke calmly.

Kogorou was astonished by the tiny boy's change in character. It was as though he was a different person. His voice was toned down and his posture was perfect. His face changed in appearance from childish innocence to a mature deep look. Kogorou lowered his brows and answered, "No, I think I will remain standing…thank you." 'Why am I talking to this brat so seriously? He may seem more mature but his still just a tiny kid,' he wondered.

"Very well, as you wish. Let's begin with who I am," Conan started watching Kogorou gulping down his saliva, "My real name is…Kudou Shinichi."

Kogorou gave a gasp and narrowed his eyes, "Preposterous! That's the most stupidest thing I've ever heard! You expect me to believe that?" he yelled out in outrage.

"It's true, I was shrunk by an experimental poison called Apotoxin 4869 when I was saw a secret exchange made between two people the day I went to the amusement park with Ran. I was so focused on what was happening in front that I didn't see another coming from behind. He knocked me down in the back of my head and gave me the drug." Conan explained.

Smack!

Conan fell hard on his bed and bounced back up, hitting it against the wall. He looked up and saw the fury in Kogorou's eyes. "You little bastard, you were using me all this time weren't you! You were using me to try and find out about this stupid organization of yours, putting me and most importantly Ran in danger!" Kogorou screamed out, into the young man's face. Conan turned to the side, looking down onto the wrinkled sheets.

A strong hand twisted his head back to his original focus, "Look at me you freak!" Kogorou knew he was probably hurting the boy but at the time, he didn't care, "Now, tell me what happened to Ran, NOW!"

Conan groaned from Kogorou's tight squeeze on his jaws. Seeing this, the old detective tossed his face from his grasp. Conan sat up against the wall, forming a triangle with one of his leg and put his arm on top. He continued to look down onto the sheets and began, "Yes, I suppose I did put both of you in danger, and I can understand why you're so upset," he raised his head with a sudden jolt. One eye showed between his bangs and the other hidden behind the light-reflecting lens, "But I know more about my mistakes then you do!"

"You understand?" Kogorou gave a sarcastic chuckle, "How can you say that you understand? Can you understand the feeling of a father who knows that his dearest daughter's life may end?"

He was about to go on but was cut in by the shrunken teen, "No! But I can understand the pain of losing someone you love…losing someone…I love" His voice trickled off.

Mouri remained in silence and softened his eyes. Looking down on the tiny figure, sitting in sorrow reminded him of the incident when Eri was kidnapped. "Tell me what had happened from the start?" he asked softly and took a seat opposite of the boy, pulling the chair behind him closer.

Conan gave a nod and began once more, "After being shrunk, I ran back to my home and told Professor Agasa about the incident. At first he didn't believe me but I managed to convince him easily enough."

"So old guy that makes you toys knew about your secret?" Kogorou stuck his head forward.

"Yes, and that's not all. Hattori Heiji, the detective of the west knows of my secret as well," Conan paused allowing the information to sink in to the man who watched him wide eyed, "and one more person," Kogorou swallowed hard, "Haibara Ai."

"Haibara? Oh, that tiny brunette girl that acts all cool?" Kogorou raised his brow in surprise.

"Yes, she was part of the Black organization but she betrayed it so now she's with us. She's been working with Professor Agasa to try and find a cure for my condition but so far, the best she's done was a 24 hour pill." Conan gave a long sigh.

Kogorou folded his arms and leaned back into the chair and tried to understand the words that he heard, "And now what happened to Ran?"

"They…took her." Conan spoke with great difficulty in his voice.

"WHAT!" Kogorou kicked his chair back as he jumped from his seat.

"They found out about our…relationship and took her away." Conan looked up.

Kogorou was about to jump on him but held himself. A moment of silence aroused from the room. The rustling of the leaves against the chilly fall wind was the only sound that echoed in the room. In this short time, they managed to calm their nerves reframe their stature. "Is that what the ten day's about?" Kogorou looked upon the young man's face and smiled, holding his rage in, "I thought so…"

"I've got a plan already so don't worry, I will get her out, I promise you!" Conan said firmly.

Few Moments Later

Conan walked, deep in thought, with his hands in the pocket of his jacket. He did not tell Mouri about the choice that he was to make but was forced to tell nearly everything else. He watched the sky; just starting to turn orange as the 3:00 sun hovered in the distance. Compared to the past few days, the young lad seemed a lot more at ease, more calm, more…Conan then before. The boy no longer feared judgment day but rather welcomed it. 'I'll get you Gin,' he thought strongly in his mind, 'I won't lose you this time!' a grin came upon his face.

Back in the office, the old detective sat on the couch; flipping through the album starting from the day Ran was born. He smiled at the tiny paper, watching the little girl that smiled so carefree. Tears built in his eyes. The old binding of the album had bits of torn pieces that hung vacantly in the air. Each page he turned, an empty happiness shocked his heart, as though it was squeezing his very soul for the devils offerings. Images of her smile entered his mind as he saw his beloved daughter calling out his name.

'Memories, all I have is memories. Is my only hope that stupid brat? Heh, Eri was right, I am just a useless old man. All this time, that brat solved all the cases instead of me. I did nothing of my own.' He thought darkly, opening another can of beer. He watched the foam build on the lid of the can. His grip tightened upon the metal container and a spark flew into his eyes. "I refuse! The greatest detective under the sky, Mouri Kogorou. How can he be out done by a stupid kid! I refuse to leave things in that stuck up idiot's hands! Black Organization? HA! I'll bring them all down with my own fist! Muahahaha!" he yelled out. His voice was lacked in confidence and his laughter had a sense of emptiness. Tears finally poured out from his eyes but he continued to laugh. He took a large sip from his can of beer and slammed it down onto the desk, tears continuing to roll down his face. Tears represented the realization that he was a fake. Tears that represented the hatred for himself for being such a useless slob.

He punched the wall to his side, the pain shocked his senses but he did not scream like his usual self. His eyes were now different, clearer, more passionate, the eyes of a true detective that was lost many years ago had come back once again for the one he love.

Conan walked, still in silence. By the park entrance he heard some familiar voices that made him flinch. "You can't get away from me, culprit, the world's greatest detective, Kojima Genta!"

The sounds of laughter brought a smiled to Conan's face. He peeped from the entrance and saw the three detective boys playing "hide and go tag". Mitsuhiko dashed across the field raising both his hands in panic as Genta trailed not far behind, waving his hands forward to reach for his objective.

He noticed a piece of red cloth near the bush beside and giggled to himself. "Ayumi-chan, your dress is showing," he whispered.

A tiny girl plopped her head from the bush and laughed in surprise, "Conan-kun! You're okay now?" she laughed.

"Okay? What do you mean?" Conan gave a confused look.

"Well, you haven't shown up in school for the past 4 days and we thought something might have happened to you," Ayumi jumped over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Genta and Mitsuhiko had noticed this and stopped their chase as they walked over to greet the friend they had not seen in the last while.

"Conan, where were you all this time. We went to your house to find you but you weren't there and old man Kogorou only moaned cause he was always drunk." Genta asked putting his hands behind his head.

"Yea, you just sort of disappeared since that afternoon when you slapped Haibara-san," Mitsuhiko added.

"Haha, sorry, I had a lot on my mind that day. I'm fine now. I'm glad to see that you guys are having fun." He gave them a smile. A smile that wasn't something a child gave to another but one that an adult gave to their kids when they tell them how proud they are of them.

The three detective boys didn't think of much about this. They had seen that smile given to them before by him and figured it was just how he was. "You wanna play with us Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked.

"Yeah, common! We're playing detectives!" invited Genta.

'Why not, I guess playing with these guys will be a good break from all that has happened lately.' He thought to himself, 'besides…who knows if I will get another chance to play with these guys again' He smiled and nodded.

"Hey Conan-kun," Mitsuhiko turned in concern, noticing a mark on his face, "What's with that bruise on your face? It looks like you got punched real hard."

"Huh," Conan felt the area around where Kogorou's fist had hit a while ago.

"Was your problem a bully? Did he hit you there?" Ayumi asked, sticking her face right up to him.

"If it was, I'll get him for ya so don't worry," Genta gave a thumbs up.

"Oh, I just fell earlier, it's nothing at all," the little detective laughed.

"You fell?" Genta looked at the wound, "You must have fell pretty hard, you clumsy oaf," he laughed.

The three quickly followed.

"Wow, you guys are having some pretty good time aren't you," the voice of a young girl sounded from behind.

"Haibara! What are you doing here?" Conan turned in surprise.

"Just for a walk," the professor smiled from behind.

"You're here too professor?" Conan grined and walked up to them. "Does this mean that the thing is finished?" he whispered to Haibara.

"No, we just finished step one, now we have to wait for 12 hours to see what will happen so we came out for a stroll to relax," Haibara answered calmly with her usual poker face.

The rest of the detective boys dashed over. "Haibara-san's here too, that's perfect!" Ayumi clapped her hands with joy.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Haibara looked toward Conan for some answer. All she received in return was a smile of amusement.

"Common Haibara-san, join us in Detective," Ayumi grabbed her hand.

"Huh? Wait!" before she could say no, she was dragged down to the middle of the field and was counting numbers as the tiny culprits hid away with a sweat drop down the back of her head. The professor merely watched in amusement at the person who just helped him do some of the most complex scientific procedures playing "Hide and go Seek" in the park.

It was starting to get late and the detective boys were now tired. They decided to part for the night and go home. Even with the chilly winds blowing, the three were sweating cats and dogs. They left looking back in amazement at how neither Conan nor Haibara had broken a sweat. Of course not, why would they. They didn't run a single step in catching the three. All they had to do was sneak up on them and tap them on their shoulders. They were the ones that ran back and forth trying to get away from their pursuer. They waved a final good bye before leaving the park.

"That was a great change in mood," Haibara looked over.

"Yea, they're good kids," Conan gave a grin as he watched them disappear.

"I take it that you're ready for them now?" Haibara raised her brow in curiosity.

"Not at all, I still got no clue on how to deal with them," Conan answered with a certain snap in his voice that almost made Haibara's poker face change into a dumb founded look.

"And you still bothered to play with them this afternoon?" Haibara said sarcastically.

"That's why I played with them, to clear my mind you know. I thought maybe if I thought for something else for a while, when I go back to my original problem, I will get some ideas to finding the solution."

"Good luck," Haibara gazed up into the skies, following Conan, "Well, I'll be getting back now, still got a few lab write outs." With that she started walking toward the exit.

"I'll catch up with you in a sec, I'm going to talk with Shinichi for a few minutes," the professor smiled and nodded for his good bye.

"Alright, I'll wait for you in the lab." Said Haibara and left the field.

"So do you think you can make it?" Conan asked.

"Yea, I won't be able to have much tests done but I think I'll make it." Professor answered confidently.

"Good, then that's perfect. Oh and I told old man Mouri about my identity." Conan grinned.

"What!" Professor bursted out in surprise.

"He was listening to our conversation today morning." Conan explained.

"And…" the professor persisted.

"He took it better than I had expected. Only one punch to the face," the tiny boy joked, "But I think he'll be fine, he may be an idiot but I think he can take it."

"Anyways, is the other side ready as well?" the professor asked.

"I think so, I haven't gotten a call from them yet but I'm pretty sure it won't be much of a problem," Conan answered.

"I still say this is too much of a gamble but since I have no better ideas I guess it's all we got," the professor smiled.

Night fell swiftly. It was dark; clouds had hid the night-lights of the heavens with its thick barrier. The hinge upon the gates to the young man's mansion continued to creek in the wind. The sound was almost frightening to one's ears in such darkness if he was to walk down that street that night. The streetlight dimly lit the cold cement floor, which flickered momentarily creating flashes of ghostly shadows upon the walls behind. A man reached out and stopped the gates from crying and closed it behind him with a loud shriek. His eyes glimmered against the flickering lights until it finally flickered off and there was nothing. Nothing but the thick darkness that consumed the area, the man with his trench coat swaying quietly in the wind, and the tiny boy that sat alone in the giant mansion alone.

End…


	2. Tears of the Heavens

Ch10

"Speeches"

'Thoughts'

Tears of the Heavens

Snow fell quietly that dark night in Sapporo Hokkaido. The icy winds blew softly from the heavens, dashing its way across the city. The slight fog dimmed the usual bright lights of the streets and a thin layer of white foamy snow had built up on the ally that received no steps, and the roofs that received no glance. A middle-aged man, roughly in his 30th, turned nervously around the corner breathing heavily as he turned his head. The sound of silence emphasized on his fear and made him seek in all directions for his murderous pursuer. He turned a corner and leaned his back against the wooden fence and took a peep over to the area where he had just run past. No one was there, there was only his lonely footprints that dented across the snow. He gave a breath of relief and watched the warm air from his mouth rise and fade into the darkened abyss and closed his eyes. A sweat drop rolled down his nervous expression and fell to the chilling ground with a…

Click

The man's eyes opened with terror, "How did you…" he exclaimed.

"You all do the same things…when you're trying to run to from fate," a dark chilling smile grew on Gin's face.

Bang

The cloaked man watched his prey fall, as the blood from his head colored the whiteness of the snow. He admired the beauty that only he could see from the dead man's corpse, then dabbed his index finger upon the wound and licked the blood off with one swift motion. "Salty AND bitter, you were just a sick man weren't you?" he laughed at the punctured face of the corpse as it watched him in silence, wide eyed and mouth hanging open.

Standing back up, he checked his watch, 9:42, he still had some time before his next target. He took one last glance at the body, narrowed his eyes, and walked away. A spark flashed and a tiny bulb of fire lit up in front of the cloaked man's lips as it repeatedly grew brighter then fading to near nothing. The man stuck his hands into his pocket while holding the cigarette with his teeth and wheezed out the smoke from his lungs. He walked in silence, listening the sound of his footsteps as it crumpled the snow below, still licking his lips with his tongue dyed red, with the dead man's blood. He raised his head and watched the shadows of clouds molding as it collided with one another and took another large inhale from his cigarette.

Flash Back

"You two, go to lab 15 and get me the data on the molecular acceleration ratio of Na (Sodium) based on the experiments we did with the acetylcholene enhanced with drug9084751 upon the neuron cell body," a young woman ordered strongly.

"Yes Ma'am!" two young scientists gave a short bow at their female boss and dashed away through the automatic doors behind them.

Shiho walked with some speed in her steps down the empty hall that served as a link between two labratories. She could not get the idea about the high school detective's cloth back when he was young had gone missing out of her head, who she confirmed as dead. She wished to see him with her own eyes imagining that there may be a possibility that a man could shrink, judging from the lab results she had received from the mice that had also taken that drug. The sound of the automatic door opening caught her ear and a gasp amongst some of the employees rose. A thought came shooting her in her mind and she narrowed her eyes. "Gin," she called out with disgust in her voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Why my dear Sherry," the ruthless assasin spoke in a mocking tone, "Is that the tone of voice to show to an old friend, who has come such a long way to see you?"

Shiho's eyes glared back, "I don't remember you ever being my **'old friend'**. You're unwanted here, do your business and leave," she said firmly, but she could feel her feet losing balance as she swayed from side to side.

Gin noticed this fragility and grinned his usual cold grin and walked behind her, "Have you ever tasted blood?" he asked keeping his mocking tone, as he put his hand at her waist and started to slide it up slowly.

Shiho remained still, trying to calm her thoughts. She quivered from his touch and looked back in disgust. "You, are a sick freak," she hissed, accenting each word.

"A person's blood has many tastes. Sweet, bitter, sour, salty, even some that's completely unique," he whispered into her ear. "What does your blood taste like?" he said as he stroked her short cut hair and watched her eyes from the side, wide open like a cat who just jumped out before a car's headlights in a dark night, and gave a chuckle.

Shiho spun around in fury, slapping him across his face with the back of her hand. The ring she had on had caught him across his cheek and a small trail of blood trickled from the wound. "You bastard, you disgust me. Now go and do what you must and leave me alone," She said giving a warning look and took a step back to take her leave.

"Hold it," Gin called out. Shiho froze in her steps desperately wanting this torment to end. "My business here is with you. I have heard rumors about that high school detective that I killed with your poison. Rumors that claim that he is still alive," his tone of voice changed from the mocking sly voice to a voice like a commanding officer from the army.

"Of course he is dead, no one that took that drug can live to tell about it," Shiho claimed, with her back still turned around.

Gin narrowed his eyes, "Turn around and face me," he ordered.

"Why should I," Shiho protested. Before she could say another word, she felt a tight grasp around her arm and she was spun around by force. Her eyes and Gin's came together. There had only been a few times when she actually looked in Gin's icy cruel pupils directly. His eyes were so emotionless, so lifeless; too…dead for her liking. Shiho tried to avoid eye contact as much as she could. But there, seeing those pale lifeless orbs, and at such a close distance, she felt the strength in her legs getting sucked away. Her knees quivered and her pulse began to rush. The lens of her eye dilating rapidly and sweat began to seep out of the glands of her forehead.

"You're hiding something," Gin shook her.

Tears were starting to build in her eyes. She struggled slightly to get away from his hold but she knew it wouldn't have worked.. She wanted to say that she wasn't but she knew if she spoke now then Gin would know for certain that she was lying. The man was inhuman. He knows every little movement, every little act, which an individual will make under stress.

"That's enough Gin," the voice of a woman rang from behind.

Gin looked up and spat a "hmf" before tossing the young woman in his hands out against the side walls. "When the day comes, I'll be the one to finish you off," he growled as he turned around and walked out the door, unsatisfied with the results he received.

"Thanks Belmot," Shiho whispered as she sat up against the wall she just hit, rubbing the area of damage.

"You should really learn to stand up for yourself. Always keep a straight face to hide your emotions. That is an art to master if you wish to be tough," she laughed and walked away, folding her arms across her chest. Just before leaving she called back, "Remember that you're an adult now so you're on your own. Next time, I maybe the one holding a gun to your head."

Shiho's eyes opened with shock but she knew it was the truth. In this organization, there was no trust. All it takes is one order from the "boss" which she herself is yet to see. She looked back down at the little clipboard that sat upon her lap and clenched a fist and bit her lip. One of the scientist came over and looked down upon her with concern, "Ms. Miyano, are you alright?" he asked extending his hand to help her up.

Shiho brushed the hand away and stood up calmly, hiding her eyes in the shadows of her hair. "No, thank you, I am fine," she said. Her words contained no emotion, no feelings. Not of sadness, anger, relief, nothing. It was just plain words that came from a flapping mouth, enough to make her helper stutter and wonder if he did something wrong.

End Flash Back

Gin took one last inhale from his cigarette and tossed it on the snowy floor. That day on the roof of Haido City Hotel, he had thought that his long awaited time had finally come. He had brought a wine glass with him that night and was all ready to pop the cork on the bottle of Sherry. He licked his lips and looked up into the cloudy sky, '4 more days…'

Back at Home

(Shinichi's house)

The dark cloaked man looked up at the giant structure that stood before him. The eerie atmosphere it created made it seem as though it was the gate way to a separate dimension. He looked at the house from one and to another and turned himself to one particular window. "Kudou Shinichi, get out here!" he yelled out and walked to the wooden porch at the front door. He could hear the creaking of the wooden flooring from the inside as the young lad got closer and closer.

The door opened and Conan walked out with his hands in his pocket, "Mouri-san, how did you know that I was here?"

Kogorou watched him intensely for a short moment and smiled with a sigh, "Your gate was open, yet just a few days ago when I had come back from the bar it was closed. All the curtains and blinds were closed except for one, the one in your room, and finally, the gate was creaking while it was open. This indicate that someone has been opening it and closing it repeatedly or it would have been too rusted down to move in a breeze such as tonight. I'm going to guess that this was where you spent your last few days and the reason that the gate was left open was for who ever it is, whether it's that old man Agasa or his little maid, to have a easier time accessing your house when they brought you food?"

"Bright today, aren't we Mouri-san?" Conan laughed and raised a surprised eyebrow toward the unusually observant detective.

"Heh, I don't need your sentiments," he snickered.

"How can I help you at this late hour?" the tiny boy looked up and invited him in.

Kogorou stepped in through the shrieking doors and stood in the foyer. "I came to ask for you to put me in a part of your plan," he whispered.

Conan raised an eyebrow, "Mouri-san, I've told you, I have things under control."

"Do you expect me to sit in my home and mope all day, hoping that my daughter is still in one piece? No, I have to be there! If my daughter was to die, I want her to see that I had at least come to her." The old detective choked and swallowed the lump that lodged in his throat, "All these years, I feel like all I've done was to embarrass her. If it wasn't for you helping me solve those cases then I think she may have left me too. I feel…useless."

Conan could tell the difficulty the usually hot headed detective was in to be so sincerer to the young man that he refused to be second to for the past years when he was still the "Great Sleeping Detective" He decided to just listen and say nothing.

Kogorou continued with his speech, "That time at the sky scraper when Ran was trapped inside with the bomb, all I did was stand at the sidelines and watched as the time ticked away. The time when Ran had amnesia, you were the one to bring her memories back and saved her life instead of me. Thinking back to the countless times when her life was in danger, it seems that you were always there for her instead of me. Now I wish to be there for her. You…" Kogorou paused and squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds before continuing, "are a better detective than I am, but I am still her father. As her father I want you to let me help with what ever it is that you must!"

A moment of quiet filled the room. Conan looked at the old man's eyes; Something seemed different about them, something has changed. They were more…determined, even more than the time when his friend was murdered when they went to the hot springs. He gave a long sigh then lowered his eyes, "Very well, I shall let you help. However, do not call the police, not even inspector Megure," the tiny figure said out with a slight ordering tone of voice.

"Understood," Kogorou said firmly and gave a nod.

Come to this house on the 4th night from today. That is the time I shall tell you the last minute details of the plan then but for now I will tell you some general ideas. For the rest of the night, they talked. The occasional Kogorou's gasps of surprise were heard from the house, while thee crickets sang their song of peace outside in the bushes as though to celebrate the new found alliance between the two detectives.

Next Morning

(Count Down Reaches 3!)

A slight down pour came from the skies, hitting the ground like a continuous drum roll. A young lad felt a jolt on his shoulders and jolted out of his slumber. His eyes opened heavily, still tired from the night before. He was up until near sun rise with old man Mouri, talking about what he must do and arguing to seek if there was any alternative. The boy's large eyes slowly opened up as he lay on the soft sheets of his bed. At first glance he saw what he hoped to see and whispered, "Ran" under his breath. But as his mind quickly forced itself back to reality, so did the picture that deluded his eyes. Ai stood before him, laughing at the delusional young lad.

"And a Good morning to you too, Kudou-kun," she said cheerfully.

Conan sat up, rubbing his head, listening to the light shower out the window. "Haibara? What are you doing here…oh right, I'm back at my home," he looked around.

"I think you're working too hard, why don't you take a break by going to school," Haibara said as she turned her back and walked out the door, keeping her hands together behind her back.

Conan couldn't help but give a snicker at the irony of her sentence, "I guess you're right. I've not gone to school for almost a week," he said and got up from his bed. He got dressed back into his usual "uniform" of the tiny suit with the shorts and the giant red bowtie and went over to Professor Agasa's home.

He saw Haibara and the professor cooking at the kitchen. The clanks and clinks of falling utensils sounded as the tiny chemist stood by the stove, laughing at her clumsy partner. "Ohhh Shinichi! The breakfast won't be ready for a while so keep yourself busy somehow." The professor called out shooting him a large smile.

Conan smiled and stepped in. Things felt as though almost back to normal. Watching the smile upon the professor's face and Ai's tiny grin that popped from her face almost made him forget about his situation, **almost. **He shot a snicker at the two, slaving in front of the oven as the tiny girl shot out orders on what to do so that the clumsy, tubby, old man would do the minimum damage. The shrunken teen blushed slightly when he saw Ai in her apron wearing a short cut skirt that reached just above her knees. He quickly hid away his face to hide the blush and smacked himself inside his head. 'What was that? Where did that come from…am I' he took a wild shake of his head and dismissed the thought by smacking the side of his head as he thought, 'Nahhhh'

He started walking around the house after shooting one last glance at the two skilled chefs. Looking at the things that he had seen since the day he was born, memories of the innocent days of his past came flashing back in his mind. He stumbled himself in Haibara (the professor)'s room. The bed was still not made and the curtains were drawn shut that stole the room of its lighting. He started to look inside the drawers, though he had no clue as to why. He was a detective; it was only natural for him to be curious at the little things. In one drawer, he found a small box, no more bigger than a shoe box, with the name Haibara written across the top. His eyes were drawn in at this tiny cubical. He took the lid off and looked inside with unusual curiosity. Was it the thought that it could tell him something about the mysterious girl that he wanted to find out for so long but had always been denied the privilege, or was it something else? Neither way, he had already took the lid off, there's no time to think whether what he was doing was right or wrong. There, he found a teardrop pendant and a single rose, dried but still held its sweet fragrance under some old shredded newspapers. He took the pendant upon his hand and noticed a small button to the side. He pressed it and the pendant split in to two. A young woman held the brightest smile upon her face as she wrapped her arms around a man who smiled smoothly out the silver frame at the little detective. He stood there looking at the joyous girl in the picture for some time. 'Is this…' he flintched.

"Do you find a girl's private things that interesting?" a voice came from behind.

Startled, Conan jumped and nearly dropped the object in question, "Oh, I was…I mean…this is…" he said nervously, shaking his arms in all directions.

Haibara smiled back, "Curiosity killed the cat, do you understand?"

"Heh..heh…." Conan laughed weakly.

The young chemist walked over and extended her hand. "May I?" she asked a rhetorical question.

Conan handed back the pendant to her hand. He watched her observe the inside carefully. Her appearance seemed to change, soften if one was to describe it. A smile crossed her face, a gentle smile, so different from her usual cool grin that felt like she was mocking you. This was of true happiness, but he could not help but to notice a certain sorrow in her eyes as she scanned each details in that tiny jewel of her past memory, a sadness that only she understood. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to barge into your private life," he apologized, nodding his head to represent a tiny bow.

Haibara merely gave a small drop of her head and returned the pendant back into the box then put it away. She remained quiet for a short while and turned her face back to him with her usual emotionless poker face. "Breakfast is ready," she said calmly and walked out the door, sliding past him.

'How does she do that?' Conan gave his head a shake, 'I wonder if I made her mad...'

"Haibara, you mad at me?" he asked. Ai took a quick look upon him, flashed a grin and a "hmf", and walked away. The bewildered detective scratched his head and ruffled his hair, 'GIRLS!' he gasped in his head. He walked after her with a crescent eye and a sweat drop behind his head that hung for the duration of his pursue.

They walked to school side by side. Conan gave occasional glances to the young girl who seemed like her usual self each time he looked, yet something about her atmosphere was different; it was just an unsettling feeling for him but he didn't bother to say anything to her.

"If it's about the pendant then just forget that you saw it," Haibara said.

"I…I wasn't thinking about that," Conan denied.

"Denial is always a good start in forgetting about things, that's a way to begin," Haibara shot him her "special" laugh.

Later During Class

Conan sat in his seat, still giving occasional glances at Haibara. 'I can't believe that cheerful girl in that picture could have been her. She seems so cold and…cool all the time.' Conan smiled gently at her bored face. 'I guess you did have a heart at some point' he joked to himself and snickered. 'But that's not what's been bothering me; I know I've seen that face somewhere, that man in the picture. Who was he…why was he with…' Conan rose up in a sudden jolt of realization, 'wait a minute, was I just caring about who she dated in the past? That's just stupid, why should I care about who she likes. It must have been because I thought I know the man, that must be it,' he thought as he sat at his desk, chewing his pencil as another sweat drop rolled down the back of his head.

At a Hotel Some Where

"Will you not eat miss?" a young man asked with concerns.

"No thank you," a longhaired teen sat on the bed with her back straight. Her face was pale and her eyes lost its glimmer. She lay on her bed with her legs tucked in and her hands together before her lips. She seemed like a body without a soul. She didn't feel the hot temperature of the room. She didn't feel the roughness of the sheets. She didn't even feel the pain that was shooting through her entire body from hunger, soreness, and tiredness from her lack of sleep.

"You have not eaten anything for the past 36 hours, at this rate you will fall sick," the young man continued to insist.

Ran looked up at the plate of breakfast. She took the toothpick and picked up a cube of melon and put it into her mouth. She chewed it slowly and swallowed, then sat back quietly once more.

"Please miss, if you fall sick then Master Gin will have me beaten to a pulp. You are his important guest if you are to be here so if anything happens to you, I will get the other end of it," the man said nervously.

Ran raised her head in surprise at the man's depravity for her health, even though he only did it to save his own hide. "Alright, I will eat if you will do me one thing." She said. The man raised an eye brow, and Ran continued, "Let me have a phone call," she said.

The man thought for a while, then nodded for he wished for her to eat. "Alright, one phone call, but you can't tell this to Master Vodka or Mast Gin about it," the man demanded.

"I won't," Ran smiled, "thank you."

The man told her to make the call in the washroom where the camera can not see her and he left leaving behind his cell phone upon the sink. Ran checked the time, 10:03, "I wonder if Shinichi's home," she walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

phone conversation

Ring, Ring, click

"Hello? This is Agasa," the professor answered.

"Oh, professor this is Ran," she said, smiling.

"Ran-kun! Are you okay? Where are you? Have they hurt you?" the professor could have gone on but was cut off by Ran.

"I'm fine professor, is Shinichi there?" she asked.

The professor raised an eyebrow and thought whiled he paced around the room to think of a way for her and Shinichi to get connected, "Yeah, he just stepped out, I'll run after him right now. I'll have him call you back so wait tight," he said.

"Do you know my number?" Ran asked in surprise.

"Based on my caller id yes," the professor gave her a cheerful reply, "wait 5 minutes and if there is no call then call here again."

"Alright," Ran clicked off.

The professor immediately called on Conan's cell phone, "Hello?" the young boy answered, keeping his voice low. His teacher's voice can be heard in the background talking something about how a turtle hated having it's shell because it was heavy.

"Shinichi, I've just received a call from Ran-kun!" the professor said excitedly.

"What!" Conan jumped up from his desk, nearly knocking it over.

The class turned their attention over and the teacher flashed him a glare, "Is there a problem Edogawa-san?"

Conan noticed the dirty look he was receiving and laughed, "Sorry, I have to be excused." Without even waiting for the approval, he dashed out of the classroom. The teacher called out from behind but the young boy had already ran out the door and slammed it shut.

"Anyways Prof, are you sure?" he confirmed.

"Yes, the number is -, got it? Good, " the professor said and he was cut off before he could bid farewell.

Conan dove into the washroom and dialed the number.

"Hello?" a nervous answer came from the other end.

"Is this Ran?" said Shinichi.

"Shinichi? It's you..." tears formed in Ran's eyes, "Shinichi…"

"Ran, have they hurt you, are you okay?" Kudou asked in concern.

"No, they haven't hurt me," Ran replied and heard a sigh of relief through the receiver.

"Don't worry Ran, I will get you out of there," Shinichi said.

"Again with the big talk," she chuckled.

"Hey, I'm the world class famed high school detective. There's nothing I can't do," Shinichi bragged to trying to give her comfort to tell her everything is okay.

Ran frowned into her phone, "You're always that. You're never here when I need you the most and you when you finally show your face, you disappear again," she snapped.

"Ran…I…" stuttered Shinichi.

"Shinichi…do you…"Ran paused.

"Huh, do I…?" Shinichi said opening his eyes in confusion.

"Do you…Love me?" Ran asked.

The young boy's heart stopped for a split second and did not know what to say.

"Do you?" Ran questioned softly, tears pouring slowly from the edge of her eyes.

"You idiot, what are you talking about," Shinichi laughed. Ran's eyes opened slightly of disappointment and Shinichi continued, "I love you…More than anyone in the entire world."

A sudden feeling came over to Ran that at the time, she didn't know what it was. A smile cut across her face, tears still sliding down her cheek "Shinichi…" she choked as she groaned.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out even if it cost me my own life," he said with great determination.

Ran narrowed her eyes, "but will you sacrifice another's life?" she asked.

Shinichi froze for a moment, 'She knows about what happened? She knows about Haibara?' "What do you mean?" he denied.

"I already know about the choice you have to make. Between me or that girl Sherry is what they call her." Ran said, gripping the phone tighter.

Shinichi remained silent. He wanted to say that everything was going to be fine but right now, everything was rested upon a gamble his making. A gamble where so many things could go wrong at the drop of a dime.

"Shinichi…, I believe in you," Ran said cheerfully.

Shinichi's eyes grew large.

"You've always come through for me. I always had a feeling like you were with me through all this time you were gone. You've gotten out of lots of tough situations and I know you can get out of this one too," Ran gave a laugh.

"Ran…" Shinichi gasped. Shinichi smiled as a warm stream of water ran down his face. He cracked a difficult smile, 'You always did know what to say when I was down. You were always there for me after and even before my parents had left. You were there for me when…I had left, and you are still here for me when your life is up against the line.' He thought as images extracted from his memories. A moment of peaceful silence aroused from the conversation. A silent communication between the two, not a word exchanged, not a sound cracked, yet they understood one another's message just by listening to the other's breath.

A click was heard from the receiver of Shinichi's, "Ran what's going on?" he asked agitated, trying to control his voice to hide the fact that he had been crying.

"I have to go Shinichi, my time is up," Ran clicked off.

Ran took a peep outside the door and saw the young man indicating that her time was up. She handed the phone back to him and went back to her bed. As she ate the words of her lover kept echoing back in her mind. '"I love you…More than anyone in the entire world."' A sudden flash back came, flaring before her eyes and engraving itself in her head.

Flash back

It was nighttime at Tropical Land. Ran had suffered from amnesia and Conan had just explained the trick the culprit used in the shooting at the hotel earlier that day as he hid with Ran behind a rock. A river flowed behind them where a boat could be seen, flowing down from the distance.

"You see Conan-kun, having you solve the trick to that murder is a little problem. I suppose that you will have to die here," said Dr. Kyosuke, reloading his gun.

Conan extended his right arm behind him and pulled Ran in closer to the boulder. Ran's eyes opened slightly in confusion, "Why? Why is that you…would protect me to this extent?"

The sound of the gun finish loading echoed from behind the boulder. Conan looked at her for a while, then smiled and grabbed her hand, "Cause of Love," he said under his grin pulling her and dashing out from behind the rock.

"What?" Ran said, thinking she didn't catch what he had said.

"Because I love you," Conan continued, "More than everyone…in this entire world."

They ran to the edge before the river. Kyousuke pulled the trigger twice but both shots missed, creating sparks upon the ground.

"We're going to jump!" Conan called out.

"What!" Ran questioned but she did as told and jumped down toward the river below.

They landed in the boat that had flown from upstream to where they were.

"Take a deep breath!" Conan continued to order. Ran just followed it and they dove under the boat for cover from the bullets. The culprit took a few shots but they went under a tunnel before he could get them.

Conan and Ran bursted out from the waters, hanging on to the rubber boat. Ran shot a smile over, "Thank you…(Tiny adult: not sure, that's just the literal translation.)"

Conan blushed and nodded as an acceptation of her thank you.

End Flash Back

"Ran!" screamed Shinichi into the phone, but no answer came back. He stepped out of the washroom and returned to class. He hoped that his eyes weren't too puffed out from his hands rubbing away the tears that overflowed from them. The door opened with the sound of its metal frame rolling upon the balls it sat upon and he saw the class turning to his way, each wondering what he had been doing.

"Wait outside please Edogawa-san," the teacher pointed, giving him a look before going back to her curriculum.

Conan gave a sigh and closed the door. He put his weight against the wall and looked forward with a pensive look sitting upon his face. The rain still continued to come down outside the window in front of him. The child walked over and planted his face upon the window. It was cold yet suiting. The hazy sky seemed to show a picture of his heart and the unique melody of the rain seemed to wash it away.

End…


	3. Unexpected Disaster

Ch11

'thoughts'

"speeches"

Unexpected Disaster

The bell rang that signaled another end of a long day for the children at the elementary school. Five figures walked in a bundle down the field of the school yard with their hands holding the lash on their backpacks, two in silence, the other threeglancing curiously over that their serious faces. Around them, the joyful chatting and the play fighting amongst the children filled the scene.

"Conan-kun, is something wrong?" Ayumi asked twitching her head to the side.

"Yeah, you haven't been to school lately. Have you fallen ill in the past few days?" Mitsuhiko added.

"You were gone for the entire last week and some of this week," Genta said putting his hands behind his head.

"Yea, I got the case of the flu last week. With Ran-neechan gone with her friends, old man Mouri didn't know what medicine to give me so it was just frequent trips to the hospital," he lied with expertise of his long year of experience.

"But you're back to health now so you'll be coming back to school from now on right?" Ayumi confirmed with a smile.

"Ri…" the tiny detective was about to say yes but he was cut off in surprise by the small brunette that, till now, walked in silence beside him.

"No, his got an appointment tomorrow," she said abruptly, "The doctors say they wish to do a few more tests." Ayumi gave a slight squint of her eyes, wondering how Haibara knew about what her little boy friend as doing tomorrow before she did but dismissed the thought after a short while with a shrug of her shoulders.

"But man…you're so lucky that you get to miss school," Genta huffed and looked down with his eyes at the little boy before him.

"What are you talking about, being sick and not coming to school isn't lucky at all!" Mitsuhiko lectured, raising his voice slightly.

Genta stuttered and took a few smaller steps to lag behind, " Geeze, I was only kidding," he hissed. 'people lately, can't even take a joke.'

A few minutes past and the group split into two. Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta in one, and the two shrunken teens in the other. They waved a final goodbye across the street where the recent green light was now flashing red and stepped out to their own way.

Conan shifted his glance after watching the three turn to walk the other way and gave her a sigh. "What is it" Ai asked, shooting him with her side glance.

"So tell me the reason already," he said.

"What reason?" Ai played dumb.

"Common, I mean the reason you wanted me to stay off school tomorrow?"

"Oh that…"

"Well?"

"The 72 hour pill is done, I want you to take it tomorrow."

"tomorrow?"

"Yes tomorrow. I want to prepare you for it tomorrow morning and by late afternoon I want you to take it."

"Why so early? There will still be like 36 hours left before the actual time of the deal."

"This pill still has not yet been tested on a real person remember. I suspect that your body will be in a pretty weak condition once you wake up from your little nap. I want you to have around 24hours of recovery handicap before you face them. Don't worry, you'll still have another 48 hours after you face them."

"I don't know, I can't shake this feeling about a certain uncertainty I've been feeling lately."

"Don't worry, I've already written your requiem," Ai chuckled.

"Heh heh…," he gave her a crescent glance and smiled weakly with occasional twitching of his lips.

Agasa Household

Ai was once again, working her brain to an overload down in the basement, searching for a definite cure. The sound of the rapid typing keyboard echoed up the spiral staircase, which led up into the living room where Conan and Agasa sat, facing each other with a typical smile that exchanged between two old friends. The late afternoon sky was growing dark with each passing minute. Crows cawed in the distance against the orange sun that lit the early rise of the moon with a blood red shade. The awkward site gave the two something to look at to pass the time that seemed to be crawling by. The young man gave a deep sigh as he admired the scenery and thought how different it was to feel the time crawl instead of dashing by. Throughout the entire week, things have been just a hurricane. It felt relieving to be able to just stand still and absorb the orange ray of the light. He was no longer worried about the upcoming day; there was just simply no point in worrying. The only thing he gets from worries is his lack of sleep and the unproductive, tiring day that would surely follow. The professor watched the boy with a nostalgic smile upon his face and softened his eyes.

A sudden topic aroused from his head as he turned to face the old genius. "By the way, did you set the things up like I told you to?" he asked with a monotone.

"Yea, have you gotten use to that new watch?" the professor replied as he asked.

"Some what, the reloading the cartridge still takes some getting use to but that's nothing much to worry about," answered Conan, turning back to watching the setting sun.

"But what if that factor does come in? With a man like Gin, it's very possible that he will do something like that," the professor asked.

"Like I said before, this is a gamble. I can't be 100 on this one like the cases I solved before. Right now, I'm going with this because it is the only thing I got." He answered with a weak chuckle under his breath. With that sudden notion, he began to scream inside, 'Damn it, not 100? This is people's lives I'm talking about!' he looked down to the floor. The light seeped through the cracks between his hair, reflecting in a few narrow lines of the crystal lenses.

The professor swallowed uneasily and resisted asking another "What if" question for he knew the answer wouldn't change. He shifted his glance to the staircase, breathed out a heavy sigh, and turned back to the evening sun. "Don't worry, I have every confidence in you Shinichi," the professor comforted giving him a bright smile.

'_I have every Confidence in you Shinichi, I believe in you!'_ the words of Ran sounded painfully in his mind. Tears began to build in his pensive eyes, which he rubbed away quickly than smiled back to the professor whispering, "Thanks".

The scene of the two figures standing there watching the red sun dropping below the hills in the distance seemed irnoi

FBI Headquarters

"Shuichi, are you set now?" a young woman called from behind her office screen door.

"Yea," a deep sure voice came in answer.

"I didn't mean about your weaponry," Jodie called back with worry in her voice.

"You let me handle my personal matters to myself," he blunted out.

"But…"

'I've avoided her till now, but it looks like we're finally going to meet face to face after all these years.'

"The next time we meet, it will be me putting you behind bars" 

Those words came flaring back in his memories. He gave a small, silent snicker as he held the picture of Shiho with a red X written across her face in his hand. He called back again with a sure voice, "I'm set!"

Turning his head back he lowered his brows at the picture he gave a final whisper, "Fate has 3 days to decide what is to happen with us," then put the picture down on the table and slid it gently to the corner. He stepped out side and turned out the light. The beam from the hall ways sneaked through the tiny crack of the door, lighting up the emotionless smile upon the rectangle before the door slammed shut and the darkness hid the smile away.

Next Day Afternoon

(Count Down Reaches 2)

"It's time Kudou-kun," a tiny girl popped her head from the stairway that led down to the basement. She looked at him from head to toe, scanning the details of his uncertainty toward what he was about to do and smiled in amusement, though she herself had a sense of uncertainty to a degree.

The little detective grasped the air with his fists, swallowed deeply, and walked up nodding his head. "Alright, if I die, I'll just come back and haunt you to your demise," he joked to relief the stress from his mind.

"That might be an improvement to you," she chuckled then took his sleeve and dragged him down.

The professor stood in the middle of the lab, putting his hands behind his back with a brilliant smile upon his face. The smile gave a sensation of relief that seemed to lift the weight off the boy's shoulders telling him things will be alright. "Alright Shinichi," the professor began, "these are the two pills you will be taking." He said holding one on each hand between his thumb and index finger. The orange one in my right is the 72 hour pill, and the one on the left is the GABA pill. Now listen carefully,"

Conan gave a gulp and awaited his instructions. The old man began with a deep breath, "First, take the GABA. Do not use water, use your saliva to gulp it down. This will coat the pill to delay a few seconds before it react with the hydro-chloric acid in your stomach. Remember, each individual is different in the pH of their stomach acid so the rate of dissociation is also different. At first, you will feel a rumble in your stomach, the moment you hear this fill your mouth with water and put the other pill in. Hold it there until 3 seconds after your abdominal region starts to feel numbness. Remember, if you do this too early, you will be in excruciating pain, and if you do this too late, you won't be able to swallow because your body will enter a paralysis stage. Once done so, just lie down on that bed over there and we'll take care of the rest." He finished taking a gasping breath because he didn't pause during the entire time.

Conan took the two pills in his hands and looked intensely at them. With a small prayer in his mind, he took the first pill in and with some difficulty, swallowed it. Immediately he took a large sip of water and put the other pill in his mouth and held it there. Just like the professor had told him, he felt a rumble in his stomach and a bit later a cold sensation filled his abdominal region. He counted in his mind, '1…2…3…' and swallowed. He could feel the coolness climbing up from his stomach, up to his shoulders, down his legs, through his arms. Then his eyes opened suddenly and flung his hand to his throat and fell to his knees.

The professor and Ai took surprise of this unexpected event and dashed to his aid. Conan continued to cough but his grip upon his neck was losing strength at a rapid rate. He gasped for air but nothing came and his vision began to blur. He had swallowed a few 10th of a second too late and the pill was caught in his throat, blocking his airway. The professor and Ai called to him as they patted him on his back. Through his hazy vision, he could see their lips move up and down but no sound entered his ear. Before long, he could no longer feel anything. He collapsed onto the floor as his hands fell from his chocking neck with a light plop. Darkness took him; he saw nothing through his dilating eyes, felt no touch through his twitching fingers, not even the smell of the strong chemicals that filled the lab was entering his nose. There was a sense of nothingness that engulfed the boy. The only sound he could register was the dissipating thumps of his heart.

End…

This definitely was not the better chapter of this story lol. Please review but because this story was removed twice, the vote has been stopped. Who will live and who will die will be a treat for you all at the end of the story. Please keep reading. Both the prof and Haibara are in shock at the sudden turn of events. All those tests and experiments and something bad still happened, looks like an uh oh for the hero side.

Only 2 reviews for chap 10? All reviews are greatly appreciated. I know some of the scientific facts seem unrealistic, but hey, that's why it's a fiction. :-p


	4. Self Doubt

Ch12

"Speech"

'Thought'

Self Doubt

beepbeepbeepbeep

'That sound…what's that sound. Am I dead?' "Kudou-kun! Are you awake?" 'That voice…I know that voice. Who is that?' the teen suddenly remembered what had happened and his eyes jolted open. "Haibara, what happened!" he jumped from his bed.

"It worked," she replied calmly.

He looked around, everything seemed to have a tint of white as though someone had stuck a thin sheet of paper before them. He rubbed them and shook his head but the image remained. He rubbed again, and again with no luck.

"Don't worry, that's just some after effect. You have more rods in your eyes than cones. Incase you don't know what that is, rods are the receptors for shading and cones are receptors for colors, Red, Green, and blue to be exact. The freezing we gave you is still wearing off and your optic nerve is still not too responsive. That's why you see what you see, don't know if its black or white but it should clear up in the next hour or so." She explained, jotting down some notes on her clip board.

Kudou stopped his rubbing and turned toward a shape which he believed was talking to him. He could see the basic shape but not much details about its features. "I thought it didn't work, you know with the whole choking bit," he sighed.

"Thanks to you, I got some more very interesting data," she said with a monotone.

"How long was I out for?"

"8h 22min 43sec,"

"That was detailed,"

"I never gotten less than an A+ in my labs,"

"What am I, chopped liver?"

"Don't flatter yourself,"

"Ohh, Shinichi! You're awake, that's a relief," a fimiliar voice came from behind him.

"Is that you professor," he said turning around. The whiteness was slightly better and he could detective some futures like the eyes and nose but still could not see too much details about the.

"I see the after effect is still there," the professor laughed and patted him on the back. "So how are you feeling otherwise?"

"Pretty good, my arms and legs feel a bit numb. That and the thought that I was a lab mouse for that cruel woman don't exactly make things better," he pouted and laid back down.

"Don't worry Kudou-kun, I'm sure it was more painful for you than it was for me," she snickered.

"Why you…" Snarled Kudou.

"I got some things I got to do so I'll be down in the lab, call me if something new happens," spoke Ai then left the room.

"Speaking of which, where am I? I don't remember this place.

"Oh, this is a bio lab that me and Ai-kun made. It's not too big but it stores any medical and emergency equipment that a hospital would have. With the experiments we do, an ambulance would be too slow if anything should happen so we built it," the professor answered with a big smile that stretched all the way across his face form one end to another.

'you made huh…I'd say this was just your old oversized closet that you brought two shelves in and a bed along with some equipments' he thought shaking his head in his mind reluctantly. "That woman, she can say some pretty cold things sometimes," he said looking out the door.

"Come now Shinichi, if it wasn't for her, you would have died right there on the lab floor," the professor consoled.

"Huh?"

"You should have seen her, she practically gone mad trying to get you stabilized. You were choking because the pill went down the wrong tube and you couldn't cough from the GABA pill. After we got it in through the right tube we had to force it into your stomach. She even…"

"She even what…"

"She gave you mouth to mouth until I got the oxygen supply to you,"

"Her?"

"Yea, she was with you the entire time until you awoke."

"Really? That cold hearted cur…" Conan shifted his glance side ways.

"Why don't you get some sleep for today, it's 2am. We'll talk more tomorrow if you want," the professor said and looked down gently at the young man before him.

"Alright, thanks," Shinichi closed his eyes and drifted into his dreams.

_His eyes opened, not knowing where he was. Trees grew high into the skies while the moon lit the leaves with its silver light. He could feel the cool night breeze rubbing against this exposed skin. It was a relaxing sensation yet something wasn't settling in the back of his head._

"_Shinichi!" a young woman screamed with fear in her eyes, "Shinichi Noo!"_

_Kudou shot his head up to find Ran calling out to him in desperate hurry as she dashed his way._

"_Muahaha, This is it Kudou Shinichi," a low dark voice came from behind as he heard the click of a rising pistol._

"_Shinichi!" Ran yelled as tear shot from her eyes_

_bang_

_His eyes opened once more, this time at a funeral. He a man, standing before a grave stone with a smile of satisfaction upon his face. He knew the man, yet he could not remember who he was. His heart tightened as he picked up on the small trickling sound of laughter that came from the grin of the dark cloaked man. With some difficulty, he walked over and tapped the man on his shoulders._

_The man spun around, showing him a maniac smile that sent an alarm in his head that forced him to take a step backwards. "Excuse me sir…could you tell me what's going on here?" he asked. The man did not say a word and stepped to the side, allowing Kudou to see the name upon the grave stone._

'_Mouri Ran' his eyes opened wide with disbelief. As he stuttered backwards, his feet got caught upon the grasp of a dead tree branch. He fell back, hitting a grave stone, making it fall from its place. He rolled over in a hurry to return the rock to its original position but when his extended arm quickly retrieved when he saw the letters, 'Miyano Shiho'_

"_What's going on!" he demanded to the cloaked man. The man said nothing, but rather took a bottle of some sort and gulped it down._

_He raised the bottle to the air and asked, "You want some too?" Kudou narrowed his eyes in disgust and the man continued, "It's good Gin" _

_Something about the man, the way he acted, the way he talked, even the drink he was drinking, was breaking every nerve in the young detective's mind. Something about him just made him want to lunge out and break him in half, yet he could not remember a thing about him. His eyes opened wide when he saw the man tapping his bottle upon two graves. His eyes filled with sorrow as tear filled them, "Noo…" he whimpered weakly, "Tousan…Kaasan…" he fell to his knees, this time looking all around. His eyes opened wide with terror to find that upon each stone was a name of someone he knew. 'Agasa Hiroshi, Mouri Kogorou, Kisaki Eli, Hattori Heiji…'_

"_Why…" he whispered, holding his head with his hands. Tears flowed down his nose and dropped to the ground. A sudden sense of fury came over him, "You!" he snarled, looking at the cloaked man. The man continued to smile at the boy mockingly, "You did this didn't you! YOU BASTARD!" he exclaimed, charging at the man with his fist raised to the side of his face._

_A burst of laughter came from him and he extended is hand in motion for the detective to stop. "No!" he said firmly, "I didn't do this…You did!"_

"_What!" Shinichi held himself on the spot. Suddenly, everything disappeared. The dead leaves on the ground, the eerie atmosphere, there was nothing. Just two beams of light that shined upon him and the man in front. _

_The man disappeared and out came back a boy in his place. He held his bowtie in one hand and the other in his pocked. The young lad glared angrily through his bifocals at the figure that stood in shock before him. "You killed them Shinichi. You kill Ran neechan, and the professor, and Old man Mouri!" he yelled out._

"_I didn't, I would never!" Kudou protested trying to prove his innocence._

_Conan raised his bowtie to his lips and grinded his teeth slightly. "Shinichi, I believed in you. How could you do such a thing with people's lives? You killed me Shinichi!" out came Ran's voice._

_Kudou watched with a stunned look on his face. He wanted to protest once more but he couldn't think of anything to say in his defense._

_The boy continued, rotating the knob in the back, "You're stupid ignorance was what got us killed, you stupid brat!" it was Kogorou this time._

"_Kudou-kun, this happened because you were too proud at your plots. You weren't 100 about your stupid gamble and you just laughed it off, you're dispecable!" Ai's voice rang through._

"_That's not true! I wasn…" he was cut off before he could explain._

"_It's you're fault Kudou!" "Yea, you stupid brat!" "I believed in you Shinichi!" _

"_Kudou!"_

"_Brat"_

"_Shinichi!_

"_Kudou-kun, You killed us!"_

"Kudou-kun…KUDOU-KUN, wake up!"

(Count Down Reaches One!)

The teenage detective shot his eyes open to find Ai holding putting the neatly folded clothing of his down beside the bed. "It looked like you were having quite a nightmare, you're soaked with sweat," she said calmly, "Go take a shower and get changed."

"Huh…oh thanks," Kudou said nervously.

Water clashed soundly upon his body as he stood under the shower head. He ducked his head into the stream of water and stroked his hand through them giving his dry scalp a quick rinse. He looked down pensively, staring blank as he watched the water draining through the tiny hole below.

'You did it' 

The memories from his dream now overflowed in his mind. "Damn it!" He hissed, narrowing his eyes.

'_It's you're fault Kudou!'_

"No it's not!"

'You did it!' 

"No!"

'_You killed us!"_

"NO!" he blunted out. His voice bounced off the walls of the silent room. He grasped the flowing water with his hands and pinched his eyelids down. The water that slid down his face hid away his tears while an overwhelming sense of guilt crashed down upon him and a few chokes of sorrow escaped his throat.

'What if that was true. What if I will be the one to kill them all, just because I chose to take this stupid gamble to bring down the B.O. once and for all…' he stepped out of the shower and dried him self. He wiped the fogged up mirror and watched the reflection stare back at him unconfidently.

'What if this fails. What if things don't even turn out the way I'm hoping it will.' A lone figure walked in silence down the hall way that lead to the kitchen. He could hear the clashing of utensils the same as the day before, but this time he did not smile. He didn't even bother to fake a smile as he showed his face from the corner.

"Good morning Shinichi," the professor said giving him a happy smile.

"Morning," he groaned glazing pensively to the floor.

Flash Back

"_Hey Conan-kun," Ran called out._

"_huh, what is it," Conan shot a weak smile. 'Damn, This name is so hard to get use to…' he thought._

"_Do you have a girl you like?" she asked, smiling softly, "You know, don't you have a person you like in school?"_

"_N..No, nobody like that…" he laughed with certain discomfort._

"_I do!" she said cheerfully, "Someone that I like a lot!"_

"_Oh? Would that happen to be Shinichi-niichan that you were looking for earlier?" Conan said in a sly voice._

_Ran gave a surprised look at the young boy who seemed to be mocking her in a way but dismissed the thought and answered. "That's right," she smiled._

_Conan was at a loss for words. A small tint of blemish colored his round cheeks as he walked silently down the road, holding hands with the girl that was spilling her true feelings to him without knowing._

_Ran continued to smile and went on. "Ever since he was small, he was really mean and always so confident and a detective nerd, but when the time comes his so reliable and courageous and cool. I really really love Shinichi!" Conan's face grew red and steam rose out from his collar as he tried to keep an understanding face, though nothing could have not seen the surprised look upon it. "But don't tell this to Shinichi okay?" Ran said putting one finger to her lips indicating it was a secret between them two._

_End Flash Back_

'Ran…How I wish to hear those words from your lips again right now…' Shinichi smiled and bit his lip to stop it from quivering. 'Perhaps it may have been better if I had told you from the start when you said those words to me.'

Breakfast was over and Ai had gone to school. She was amazingly serious about her schooling. She never missed one day of class since the beginning of the year unless it was something she could not help. She never paid attention in class and never took one step in gym yet she have never missed any of them. Perhaps she found relaxation in watching the kids struggle with their additions and subtractions, perhaps she just wanted to get away from the clumsy old man she had to work with for a few hours. It was weird to the two that she left behind, they had asked her about it before but she would always come up with a way to answer it by not answering it, and if that person was Kudou who asked her, she would always add a few insults with a few twists and turns so that it would be a few minutes after she leave that Kudou would realize what it is. Ai walked down the road cheerfully, smiling at the open sky. With no one around her, she felt free.

It was now 11:00 back in the house. The professor watched the teenage detective with difficulty and had attempted to cal to him but each time withdrawing for fear that he may be sticking his nose into something that he wasn't suppose to. Finally, collecting his courage he asked, "Shinichi, is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," his voice was plain. No high pitches and no low pitches. A depressing voice it was.

"Don't give me that, I can see something was wrong from a mile away," the professor insisted.

"Then why did you ask?"

"To get you to talk about it in a natural way,"

"Well I don't want to, I'm going for a walk," Shinichi jumped from his seat and marched to the door.

He snapped the door open and was about to step outside but caught himself when he found a man standing before him, his hand still reaching up to hit the door bell. "Hattori? What are you doing here?" Shinichi gasped in surprise.

"Today is our day off so I came over for a visit. I heard from that tiny neechan that you got your body back," he laughed giving Shinichi a light punch on his shoulders.

"It's only temporary,"

"Really? Darn, how long this time?"

"I think its about 2 days more,"

"Better than last time."

"Now how about telling me the rest of the reason to why you're here?"

"Huh, what are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me that you came all this way from Oosaka just to seem me."

"Hmf, yea. I heard about your situation over here so I came over to help."

"You did, from who?"

"That old man behind you"

"What! Professor!" Shinichi spun around with an angry glare.

"I thought you could use some help in this matter." The professor stepped back, holding his hands forward to protect himself from any sudden attacks. "I've noticed some difficulties in your smile lately and thought that there was something wrong. Since I'm not a world class detective like you, I thought maybe you could discuss things with him instead,"

"That's non of your business!" Kudou shouted.

"Right, I'll be in the lab so if you need me, just call me," The professor dashed down the stairs with great hurry and waved a small good bye.

"Huh, he ran away…" Shinichi pouted and turned his attention back to the smiling figure.

"So what's gotten you down so low today?" Hattori questioned.

"What are you talking about," Shinichi raised a brow.

"Common, Something must have happened if it made the "Great Detective of the East" cry," he chuckled.

"What, I wasn't…"

"Don't play dumb. Neither you were crying or the sand man came extra late today."

"huh" Shinichi rubbed his eyes and noticed a few crust falling from them. "Oh…"

"So what happened?" Hattori looked up sharply into his eyes.

Shinichi watched the man's determined face and gave up with a sigh. "I had a dream last night," he began.

"A dream?"

"Yea, it was a message from the future. Everyone died because of this stupid gamble I'm taking with this case," tears formed under his eyes, "I'm just stupid. Holmes would have thought up a definite plan, a plan with no chance that it's going to fail. But I couldn't, all I could come up with is a stupid strategy with a thousand ways to go wrong. The modern day Holmes is what they use to call me, and for some time I believed that it could have been true. But who am I kidding, look at me now."

"Enough!" Hattori cut in angrily, "You're not Holmes and you will never be! You are you and don't you forget that. Stop trying to be some fictional character because you will never be able to. It's called a fictional character for a reason."

"What do you know! Do you know how many people's lives I hold in my hand right now? It's not just Ran or Haibara, it's everyone I hold dear to. Everyone I care about, even yours! You've known me long enough to know a little about them as well. You know that if this fails then they will sure to track me down and everyone that was close to me. My father and mother, the professor, you, heck they may even go after the detective boys gang!" Shinichi snapped his head back and bit his lips. His arm extended high into the air from the adrenalin that rushed through his veins.

"And what, you're just going to mope about it? I really thought you were better than that Kudou. If you really truly are the detective that rival my own than prove it!" Hattori exclaimed.

"I can't do it Hattori, I just can't! F! I thought this plan would work for a short while but now, the more I think about it, the more I feel like it's going to fail. I never asked to be your rival and frankly I don't give a crap about it!"

Smack

"What the hell did you do that for you bastard!" Shinichi flung around with rage in his eyes as he held his face while pain shot through his jaws.

"You bastard," Hattori said quietly, breathing heavily to keep himself from going further, "Can you hear yourself right now Kudou? You're on the verge of going off the deep end and you know that….or are you trying to?"

"What!"

"Do you know why you probably had that stupid dream? It's because of your own self doubt! I bet you probably didn't think this plan was going to work from the start and that's what triggered it. What happened to that confident, persistent idiot I knew? I came here to help you, not listen to your stupid MOPING"

Shinichi shifted his glance down and shot a grin through his aching jaws. "That's the 3rd time I got hit during this thing. What is it about me getting hit that I always come to my senses. I even told myself that there was no more time for moping and here I am today again, thinking about all the negatives." Shinichi looked up. A gasp flew from the great detective of the west's lips as he took sight of the new look in the boy's eyes that stood before him and gave a cool relieved smile. Shinichi's eyes flared as he straightened his back. "This plan isn't a gamble. It's going to work…100!" is voice was firm, decisive, and assured. He turned his back to Hattori than glanced back to the Oosaka detective. "Thanks Hattori," he whispered.

Hattori smiled back than stroked his hair. "It was MY pleasure," he said mockingly. Kudou chuckled and rolled his eyes.

The sun was beginning to set and after the hours of talking and discussing, Hattori had left the house. Through the glass panes, the sun radiated its warmth upon the exhausted detective. The moist hew from the outside sneaked it's way in through the open window and slid chillingly upon his face. He shut his eyes and drifted off into sleep, all the while smiling as he thought, 'Bring it on!'

It was close to 12:00 when a figure walked in. She watched the young lad sleep with a gentle smile. Giving out a light sigh, she checked the surrounding to make sure that no one else, mainly the professor, was not there and opened the sheet she held in her hand. She gently covered the sleeping detective then took one last glance at the boy as he slept peacefully, still wearing the confident smile upon his face, before returning to her room with a chuckle.

End….

Here you go, ch12. I hope you enjoyed it! Only 2 reviews for ch11, I feel sad Thank you Crystal Snowflake and Fanfic Maniac for your generous reviews. Next chapter, Count down reaches ZERO! Judgement day arrives. Story is about to come to an end.

All reviews are well appreciated, please review :-)


	5. Zero!

Ch13

"Speeches"

'Thoughts'

Zero! 

The sun shined through the blinds of the panes of the windows upon a tiny girl's face. It twitched a few times, irritated by the light, before it finally opened to show her the snoring figure of an old man next to her. Watching the old man sleeping for carefree gave her a snicker as she got up from her bed. Yawning, she walked to the living room where she left Kudou last night to see if he had been awake yet. The clock that hung from the wall indicated that it was still 6:30 so she made her way down the hall quietly, careful not to make any sudden noise so she will not wake the teen. When she got there, to her surprise, the one she seeked was gone. The sheet she placed upon him had been folded neatly on the armrest where he had rested his head the past night. A faint sent of beacon was left hung in the air. A freshly washed plate can be seen upon the drying rack through the open door to the kitchen. 'He must have left quite a while ago, the smell in the air quite faint and that dish seems half dry already.' She deduced.

She decided to check his home in hopes of seeing him. An unusual feeling came over her as she strolled down the street to the big mansion next door. Something felt warm inside her that she could not explain. The arching door of the empty house creaked open with a small force applied by her hand. She took a look around from the door before entering and making her way up the stairs to the detective's room.

(Knock Knock)

"Kudou-kun, are you in side?" she whispered through the door. The only answer she received was the cries of the floorboard that shrieked each time she shifted her weight. "Kudou-kun, I'm coming in," she called out.

As she opened the door, she heard a crinkling sound under her feet. Looking down, she found an envelope, upon which wrote "To Haibara". She picked it up curiously and opened it to investigate the inside. A gasp of horror escaped her lips before she grinded her teeth together nervously.

11:07

Through the windows above a small café, the face of a concerned middle-aged man peeped through, watching the streets below with his right hand supporting his head below his chin. In his other, he held a photo of his dear daughter, smiling happily squeezing the protesting little boy in her arms. Each time he glanced down at the image, he would look back outside with his heart refilled with nostalgic yearn to see that smile in real life.

Aside from his sorrow, something bothered him, something wasn't settling. He did not know what the feeling was, at least not at the time. Turning back to his desk, he dismissed the thought as he took a sip of beer. He had been drinking the same bear for the past 4 hours, a personal record when it comes to drinking considering his usual can lasted no more than 5minutes. The bitterness of the beer and the nose pinching odor of the alcohol seemed to be emphasized that morning. Giving a long sigh, he shook the last of what was left in his can and chugged it into his mouth.

FBI Heaquarter

"Ms. Jodie, it's good to see you again," the voice of a teen called out.

"Huh, cool kid! You got your body back!" Jodie chirped with surprise.

"Don't be too happy, it's only temporary until tomorrow," he laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, toning down her voice in disappointment.

"Don't be, I'm not," Shinichi replied cheerfully.

Jodie smiled back, "You're pretty cute there Shinichi-kun," she said pinching his face, "Although I think you were cuter when you were 3 feet tall."

"heh heh" Shinichi laughed weakly, "Did you organize your teams like I asked you to?"

"Of course! This gamble almost worked last time with Belmot at the harbor, perhaps this time we'll get lucky," she said twirling her badge.

"It's not a gamble Ms. Jodie, it's a plan," Shinichi said firmly.

Jodie raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Yes it is," she said calmly.

"You came to check up on us?" the voice of a man came from behind.

Shinichi turned around to find the source of the voice. A man, no more than his twentieth strolled toward him. "Nice to see you again Shuichi-san," Kudou waved.

"and I" Shuichi replied.

'huh, he looks just like…' "Shuichi-san, Were you…" he called out.

"Huh, what was that?" Shuichi asked.

"Never mind, it's nothing important," He stopped himself.

"So what brings you over?" Shuichi asked.

"Ah yes, I brought these," Shinichi replied opening his pawn to reveal a stack of clear sticker like plastic.

"What are they," Jodie asked, taking the object to her hand and observing the details. A She could see metallic fiber like wires that lined the inside and as she pushed on the edges, the object was unusually flexible for plastic.

"That is the Ultra Nano Transmitter or UNT for short. It's an upgraded model of the sticker transmitters I had. Now, it is able to pick up sound and video imagery too if one wished to." Shinichi explained.

"Interesting, where's the receiver?" Jodie asked.

"This," Shinichi pulled out a pair of sunglasses, "It's much like the glasses I had but adjusted for looks and new receptions to get the sound and images from the transmitters," said Shinichi, tossing it over to the man across who looked intriguingly at the gadget.

He put the glasses on and looked around. His eyes opened under the shades, as he noticed how the colors of his surrounding did not change one bit. Only excess light from the bright noon sun seemed to get blocked while everything else remained the same.

"Those glasses contain night vision, heat vision, and work as binoculars up to 50X an object's original size," Shinichi laughed, "Magnificent, isn't it?"

"My god, are you sure this was all made by that old professor…what was his name…Agasa?" Jodie questioned with astonishment.

"Indeed he did," Shinichi smiled, "I want you to give these to each of the 12 squad leaders I told you to set up for me. Don't move till you hear a message from me," Shinichi said firmly.

"Right!" Jodie said. Shuichi gave a sharp look at the young detective and cracked a small smile.

'Damn, I'm giving orders to the FBI! This is sooo cool!' Shinichi thought to himself.

The professor looked nervously at the tiny anxious girl that paced back and force in the living room. This was one of the rare occasions where she actually chose to not go to school. In her hand, she held the small piece of paper she found under Kudou's bedroom door, now crinkled from her tight grip.

"Try to calm yourself Ai-kun," the old scientist called out.

"How can I!" she replied, "That baka is going to get himself killed if he does this," she said angrily and looked down upon the letter once more.

'Ai, today is the day that I am to meet with gin once more. I've decided to attack him head on. I'm sure that he will have many leads to the organization in his car so I will use those and go for the nest. I know what I am writing to you may be hard to comprehend but I hope you understand that it is what I must do. You know better than I do that if I let this chance escape, the B.O. will track me, Ran, you, and all the others down to eliminate us later on.

They know my identity now and that means either I kill them or they will kill me, quite literally. Meet me at Beika Park at 8:15 tonight, I wish to talk to you about something. Wait for me if I am late.

Shinichi '

"This was his brilliant plan? This was the best he could come up with after 10 long days?" Ai bursted out furiously.

"Calm down Ai-kun, you know what he says is true," the professor said with concern, "I know what his doing may seem incomprehensible but it's out of our hands now. Once he thinks of doing something, nobody can tell him other wise."

"Th.th..this isn't even a plan! This is just plain foolish suicide!" Ai screamed back, "What's wrong with him, did he cry his common sense out or something?"

"Maybe his got something up his sleeve, maybe he really do have a plan that let him attack them head on and win," the professor defended.

"Oh give me a break. Do you really think that the organization is that dumb? Kudou-kun is smart as he is but there is no way…just no way!" she shouted, shaking her head. "Anyways, I'm going to go tonight to meet him there and knock some senses into his head. I'm not going to let him walk into his own demise," she said angrily.

The door opened abruptly as light shot violently into the room where a girl lay quietly upon the bed. Stains upon the sheets marked the places where tears collected after plopping out from her eyes. "Hey woman! It's time for you to be reunited with your little friend," a deep voice rang against her back.

Ran didn't say a word. She got up slowly and walked over in silence, watching nervously at the darkened smile upon the black cloaked male's face. They walked out of the hotel with Ran receiving momentary shoves to pick up her pace. Once she was forced into the car, gin grabbed the blind fold once more and tied it tightly across her eyes.

Her eyes had run dry of tears. She didn't react in any way to the abuse she received from the man's shoving. Her head hit the room of the car heavily when she was pushed in but she did not yelp nor groan from her pain. The only thoughts that ran over and over in her mind was the thought that she would, once more, be reunited with the one she loved. At least, she hoped she would. Despite everything she said to him over the phone, deep down, she still wished for him to choose her. She hated herself for it and denied that she was thinking of such thoughts numerous times before, but she had given up and just accepted that, that was how she was.

Can you call someone selfish for wishing to live? Can you say someone is arrogant for wishing to be with the one she loved? With all her generosity, all her kindness, she was still…human. Though some may say she is selfish or arrogant, God shall find forgiveness for her decisions.

The sun began to set in the distant city horizon as a boy sat patiently at the location of his prearranged meeting. He could hear the noisy chatting of the people that walked in the streets behind the building to which he leaned against. He checked his watch, 7:55… 5 more minutes. His heart began to race and his mind jumped from possibility to possibility. He tinkered with his watch, making sure everything was set as it was suppose to be. The day had grown strangely warm over the hours that passed. Precipitation formed above his brows and formed into droplets that slid down his cheeks.

The sound of an engine caught the young man's attention as a classic Porsche turned around the corner down the ally. His eyes narrowed with hatred and bit his lip down hard to keep himself stable. He watched as the car came to a slow stop a few meters away. The front doors opened with a click and out came a man's voice. "Kudou Shinichi, long time now see," sang the voice.

"Gin…" Shinichi narrowed his eyes bitterly.

"I must say that I was surprised to see you back in your…stature," he laughed.

"Where is Ran?" Kudou demanded.

"Where is Sherry?" Gin called out.

Reaching for his back pocket, he pulled out a white envelope and said, "She's at the location written in this envelope."

"Give me the letter,"

"Give me Ran first!"

Gin looked up and gave a chuckle. "Very well," he said, "Vodka, get his woman out here."

"Right away," Vodka said with a smirk and opened the back seat doors. He pulled Ran forcefully, making her half jumping half tripping out of the vehicle. Her face was tinted in a slightly pale white shade as she swayed from side to side, trying hard to keep herself in balance with her weakened legs. The once tough and strong character now seemed fragile and insecure. Also she didn't look to her best shape, her figure remained the same. Her long legs made its way to her slender waist where her smooth silky hair slid up her back. Her thin fingers curled around the soft skin of her arms as her blue gray eyes glimmered wide at the disbelief of finally coming face to face with the one she longed for.

"Sh..Shinichi? Is it really…?" Ran called hesitantly.

"Baarou, what are you talking about, of course it's me," he laughed, trying to raise her spirit despite the situation. "Now let her go!" he shouted as he shifted his glance back to Gin.

Vodka gave her a slight shove and she made her way down the ally. "You do know the consequences don't you?" the cloaked tubby man called out, "If you tried to mess with us, we will track you down tomorrow and end your very life then and there. That better be the real address of where Sherry is!"

"Yes…It is" Shinichi said sliding his glance downwards with shame and grinded his teeth.

Ran's footsteps gained in momentum as her excitement and her urge to get away from the two captors grew steadily in her body. Tears built in her eyes that she thought had already run dry. "Ran! Don't run, walk slowly!" Shinichi yelled, holding his palm open in front of him. Ran snapped her focus back and held the tears in. With a nod, she continued.

She made her way down the ally slowly. Each step made Kudou's heart skip as he remembered his dream where she was shot when she was nearly to his reach. He placed his hands behind his back and readied his watch so that it can be shot at a moments notice if his opponent looked as though he was about to act. As Ran got closer, his focus on her decreased. He kept a strict eye for the entire time she trickled her way to him on the man behind her, ginning coldly through his maniac face.

"You have her, now give me the envelope," Gin demanded lowering his brow.

Kudou thinned his eyes and pulled out the letter. He tossed it expertly and watched the envelope fly through the air, landing a few steps in front of Gin. Gin picked up the envelope while sticking his other in his pocket as though to pose.

The young detective returned his glance back to Ran and breathed out in relief. Taking a few steps back, he saw that Gin was satisfied by the bargain he had received so he turned around, sliding his hands into Ran's as he motioned to leave the ally.

A click caught the attention of Ran as they were making their way out and turned swiftly. Shinichi watched questioningly for a split second before realizing the fear upon her eyes. He reached for his tranquilizer watch in reaction but he knew he wouldn't have made it. The last thing he registered before he shut the light from his eyes was the frozen smile of the stone hearted man as his fingered pulled on the trigger on his silenced pistol.

Pshoot!

His eyes opened wide immediately after hearing the sound of the gun fire. Realizing he wasn't in pain, his glance quickly turned to the girl beside him. No traces of blood can be seen on her, but the terrified surprised look on her face made him shift his glance to the direction of her eyes. (All this had taken in a split second)

He gasped with shock to find the great sleeping detective, still on his way to the ground from the impact he had just taken. He could see trails of blood skipping into the air. His immediate reflex was to raise his watch. He took a short aim and fired. Gin had also been taken by surprise at the sudden appearance of this man. He raised an eye brow, feeling a sting to his throat then grasped it with his hand.

"Vodka, let's get out of here!" he called out.

"But Aniki, what about them?" Vodka questioned, confused for he thought that they were going to finish the two there and then.

"I said get out of here!" Gin exclaimed. The tubby man jumped at the sudden eruption of anger and followed his order obediently while he mumbled a few curses to the young detective as he glared through his sunglasses. Their car screeched out of the area, leaving behind a cloud of dust that disappeared soon after.

"Daddy!" Ran cried out as she held her wounded father to her chest.

"Mouri-san! What are you doing here?" Shinichi ran over and kneeled down.

"Heh (Cough) did you think I was that stupid? You told (Cough) me to come to your house on the 4th night when we talked last time. Yet, I remembered that you told me that the this B.O. had given you 10 days. I (Cough, cough) remember the first time you told me about Ran's disappearance was 6days before that when you told me she was off wi…(Ahh)" he cried out in pain.

"Daddy!" Ran yelled out.

Kogorou patted her hand to ensure her that he was alright and continued. "When she was off with Sonoko. I felt strange about it so I camped at the Beika Plaza, just in case (ow)."

Shinichi watched with surprise at the sharpness of the man. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 110. The bullet had entered to his lungs. His face grew pale and his eyes began to shut.

"Daddy?…DAD? DAD!" Ran shouted and squeezed her father slightly more tightly. Tears poured as she shook him, desperately trying to keep him awake.

"Mouri-san, you must stay awake! Hang on, the ambulance will be here in a short time!" Shinichi called to the fainting detective.

"Ran…" Kogorou whispered.

"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble from you…" he said, trailing off to the end.

The emergency crew arrived and was loading the unconscious Kogorou. Ran climbed onto the ambulance to her father's side and watched in tears at the man who laid in critical condition. Shinichi stood outside, watching the doctors go about busily trying to stabilize the dying detective.

"Aren't you coming Shinichi?" Ran asked.

"No, I've still got someone to save," Shinichi smiled.

Ran remembered about the other girl, Sherry. Looking back at the pale face of her father, she kissed him on his head then climbed out with a nod. "I'm coming with you," she spoke with a determined tone.

"NO!" Shinichi declined abruptly.

"Yes I am!" Ran demanded.

"Ran! I can't bring you into something so dangerous as this! If something was to happen to you, I don't know what I'm going to do!" he continued to refuse.

"Shinichi, I've made up my mind. I'll come weather you like it or not!" she said, stomping her feet on the ground.

Shinichi was about to argue some more but he knew Ran's stubborn nature better than anyone else. She was just like him, once her mind is made up, no one else can change it. With a deep sigh, he gave a nod of affirmation.

"Aniki, why didn't you finish them there?" vodka asked.

"That bastard shot me with that thing again!" Gin relied, trying to shake off the dizziness.

"He shot you? Where? Are you injured?" Vodka patted his partner with a bewildered face.

"I'll be fine. I've taken enough drugs to take the full effect of his drug. Where's that paper that he left us?" Gin asked.

"It's right here, it says Beika Park" Vodka announced.

"It's 8:13 right now huh, shouldn't take more than 5min to get there. Let's see if he actually did keep his side of the bargain," Gin smirked hitting the side of his head with his palm.

End…

I ended here because if I didn't this would become a 20 page chapter lol. I hope you liked it, wait till you see what happens to Shiho! Who's going to die? What's Conan's ultimate plot?

Crystal Snowflake: I am working on both stories at same time right now. Don't worry, I should have chap3 of other uped soon.

Fanfic Maniac: You don't think I'm going to end this so quickly do you? Especially after all those days of planning Kudou undergone. More chapters to come and I hope you will enjoy them

Case-Closed-Lover-1: I'm sorry but I got school work too you know. I'm doing my best at updating my stories.

Great Detective: Thank you very much. I guess I left you in suspense again lol, sorry.

Schillok: Well, yes I never really thought about it. But Ran could have been at university? And GABA is benzoic acid not butter acid. I forgot what G and A stood for although I don't think it was Gamma Amino. I don't study medicine. I'm just a Bio30 student in Gr.12. Sorry about the Mitochondria thing. It's the ribosome that does the protein synthesis, but give me a break. I haven't done parts of a cell since Gr.10 lol.

Thank you very much for you constructive review. I appreciated it a lot!

Ficcie: Thank you, I'm glad you like it

Reviews Reviews Reviews!

Remember that all reviews are well appreciated!


	6. Cracking Shell

Ch14

"Speeches"

'Thoughts'

Cracking Shell

'That Baka, what the heck is he thinking! I'm gonna knock some sense into that noggin of his if I have to crack it flat with a sledge hammer!' A young girl paced in front of the giant entrance gate of Beika Park. She took frequent sight of her watch agitatedly as she scanned the vicinity for any sign of the lunatic detective. 'His late…it's 8:20 already, what the heck is he…oh screw the politeness, where the hell is that bastard. I worked too hard in keeping alive to let you die now!'

A figure lurked behind the bush at the other side of the park. It's eyes glided from one side to the other, as a tiger would search for his next grand meal. After a thorough search, the tubby man wiped the sweat from his head and turned back to his car. He took notice of his partner, though still seemed a bit weaker than his usual self, typing upon his laptop. "I don't see her anywhere aniki, that bastard of a kid lied to us," he cursed, slamming his hand on the roof of the car.

"Don't be so hasty, I don't think that kid was lying," Gin said in a calm tone.

"But she's not here, I've checked and double checked, even a third time! I don't see her anywhere or anyone that looks like her for that matter,"

"There are 3 most likely possibilities that I could think of."

"3?"

"Yes, the first is as you said, he lied to us. Though I highly doubt this for he knows that once we know him, he won't be able to hide her for long anyways."

"Hmmm…"

"2. That woman used surgery to change her appearance. I give some doubt to this either. We saw her 6month after she ran on top of that skyscraper and she didn't bother to change her face, why should she now? But still, that is a possibility."

"…"

"And finally, the one I'm considering the most, especially after I saw that kid today!"

"You mean that high school brat?"

"Yea him,"

"What's up with him?"

"You saw him, didn't you notice a big difference?"

"You mean the fact that he got his body back?"

"Exactly! But I doubt it was permanent. He was sweating quite a bit when I saw him. My guess is that sherry made him a temporary pill to return to his normal figure for a day? Maybe 2? I don't know, but for a limited time."

"What does this has to do with Sherry?"

"You still don't get it? Let me put it this way then, we handcuffed her to that room. The only exit was through the door which was guarded heavily by loyal members of the organization. When we found that she had escaped, the handcuffs were still on the metal pole we stuck it on with the other end closed. Do you really believe that someone that would be escaping for their lives would waste time putting the hand cuff they undid , neatly back to its original position?"

A gasp choked vodka's throat.

"There was one other way for her to escape that room, unnoticed by the guards and completely unsought of, even by us at the time. My 3rd guess is that she took that pill as well and shrunk like that kid detective. She then used the garbage shoot to escape t the outside and got away from that room. That day on top of that building, she must have taken something to return her to her original form for that short period of time. You remember Pisko's words before we shot him?

"Wait, if you kill me you won't be able to find Sherry. I have an idea of where she is now…"

"Yeah…I can sort of recall him saying something like that…"

"She breathed rather heavily as well. And despite the fact that it was snowing outside, she was sweating as well. The reason? She took a drug to make her return to her original figure to hide the truth from our eyes. Thinking back, it could have been possible that she showed herself before us on purpose to lead us into thinking differently."

"So what do we do now?"

An evil smile rose from the stoned man's lips and he turned his laptop over to reveal a picture. "I just got this picture from the organization, its her from when she was young. Look for this rather than what you seeked before."

"Understood!" Vodka replied firmly.

"Oh and Vodka…" Gin glanced side ways.

"Yes Aniki?" Vodka questioned.

"If you ever slam your fist upon my car like that again, don't blame me for not being more polite about it," he glared bitterly.

Vodka groaned with slight fear at the man's freezing stare and took a small bow of apology, "Sorry Aniki…" he whispered.

"So what are we going to do now?" Ran asked.

"Hold on," replied Shinichi and pulled out his miniature key holder cell phone.

'That cell phone, it's just like Conan-kun's' Ran thought but shook off her suspicion with a nudge, 'of course they're the same. The same Hakase made it,' she chuckled to her thoughts.

'_I love you…More than anyone in the entire world.'_

The young lad's words came echoing back into her mind. She gave her head a shake then smiled lightly at the detective.

"Of all the nerves…" Ai glared through her bright blue eyes. The blazing light of the late afternoon sun irritated her eyes as she continued her pacing steps. 'What's he doing? What's taking so long?' her hands squeezed the side of her arms then started tapping with her foot, trying best she could to stay calm.

"There you are…Sherry!" a voice sounded from her back. The young girl knew exactly who it was. The voice she's heard so many times before. Before she could jump to face the man, she felt a grasp followed by an odor forced to her nose. Her eyes grew weaker and strength started to fail in her struggle. Light faded from her vision and she collapsed with one last thought, 'Why…', while a single drop of tear fell from her eye.

'What the…oh right, I died after I got caught by…wait…Conscious thought? I'm alive!' the tiny chemist's eyes flashed open. She could hear the engine of a car running quietly in the background as lights of outside streets slid inside, dimmed by the shades of the windows.

"It's been a long time," the voice of a man sounded from the front seat. She could see his maniac eyes through the rear view mirror.

"Gin…" she whispered bitterly. She sat up with some difficulty, realizing that her hands were bound. "Why am I still alive?" she asked putting on her usual cold face to match her captor.

"The boss wants to see you before he decides what to do with you," the blond haired man spoke out plainly.

The car sped down the highway smoothly. They had left the busy city street and was on a country road. The stars shown brightly in the nocturnal skies and only disappeared with the few flashes of street lights that was spread in quite some distance apart from one another. Ai looked up through her window then lowered her eyes with a hint of sadness. 'So this was the deal that Kudou-kun made huh. In exchange for Ran-san, he would give me up.' Tears formed slowly to her lids which she bit her lips to keep them in, 'Shouldn't I be happy about this? I mean, all this time I've said that I was willing to trade my life if they could be safe. Is this not what I've wanted? If so…then why do I feel this pain?'

'Don't worry, if things gets bad then I'll protect you.'

'His all talk,' she gritted her teeth, 'all talk and no action.' Her eyes softened, pushing down her anger, 'Still…why do I feel the way I do? Is it through pure anger of betrayal? No…it's different some how. I've had this feeling before…'

The girl curled her knees to her chest. She could feel her heart pounding energetically in her chest. So much that each beat seemed to shake her body slightly. Even with all her knowledge about the human anatomy, she could not explain her feelings there and then. Times change, things change, but people do not. They may alter their appearance, their name, their style, but never their soul. How much one can conceal lies within the strength of their outer shell, and right now, hers was beginning to crack.

Flash back

"You don't love me. You were just looking out for yourself. You just wanted to stay alive for your own fears, you couldn't careless about me. All this time it was a lie, and what you are saying now is probably one as well." Said Shuichi coldly.

"That's not true! I'm not…"

"How can I be sure? You managed to lie to me all these years without me noticing!" Shuichi cut in before she could finish.

"Please Shuichi, I'm sorry…" Shiho pleaded.

Click—

The young man pulled out a handgun and pointed to her head. "No, stop! That's enough! I don't want to hear about it anymore. Beat it! I never want to see your face again."

Shiho's eyes widened as she lost all the strength in her legs and fell to her knees. She was all out of words to say. Her mouth moved but no sound came through. Only the pouring of the rains filled the painstaking silence that came in.

Shuichi lowered his gun and put it back into its holder and said almost whispering, "The next time we meet, it will be me putting you behind bars."

End Flash Back

It was 2hours past midnight when they finally arrived to their destination. It was a one-story building, almost like a small church with out the cross on top. The rigid walls seemed old yet new. They sparkled from the lobby light but its marble sides were beaten and rugged. At the center was a grand piano upon a circular mini stage on top of the main. They walked down the isle where only a few janitors stood by, watching them thoroughly from head to toe. They glanced at one another, and then with a nod, returned to their work as though they didn't see anything.

Gin stopped before the piano, then tapped the side of its stand before giving it a small punch. The stand folded down and flipped over a small panel. Ai looked over, just in time to see the code, 4869. Gin returned to the piano, and played 3 keys before stepping back down from the plat form. The stage twisted open to reveal a small passage way below. Faint signs of light can be seen from the bottom of the stairs.

Down the stairs, through the door and into the halls they walked. From the giant glass that stood as walls of the hall way Ai could see many scientists, workers and a few security guards, fully equipped with guns and batons. She gritted her teeth as the site brought back the disgusting memories of the times when she was one of those who were working below. She was led to a small wooden door. Her heart filled with uncertainties of who the "boss" was. For years, she had known of his existence but have never seen him in person. Every part of her body was screaming for her to run but the two men that escorted her said otherwise.

A hand grasped the knob and turned as the door slowly opened. It was dark inside the office. She can see that it wasn't as big as she thought it would be. A desk arced around the leather chair that turned its back toward the three enterers where she could see a pair of elbows upon the arm rests.

"Welcome back…Sherry," a voice echoed through the room. Vodka gave her a small push that made her stumble inside and shut the door behind him. Gin walked up to the desk and handed over a profile.

"Who are you!" Haibara demanded. 'I know his voice…from somewhere…and that accent…'

"I know you just thought that you know my voice. You should," the shadow grinned from his darkened seat.

"Show yourself!" Ai exclaimed.

The chair swung over slowly. Ai swallowed loudly as the dim lamp light revealed bits at a time of the details of his face. Her eyes began to widen as the face upon the body became more clear. 'No…it can't be…' A smile of amusement crossed the mastermind's face. She took a step back as she gasped with disbelief.

"Are you surprised?" the figure chuckled.

"Y…y…you're…" Ai's mouth hung in the midst of air as words cramped at his throat. One hand clutched her chest while the other covered her mouth.

"!"

End…

How was it? Please review! I hope I can get more reviews for this story lol. Who is the head of the B.O.? Wait for the next chapter to find out!

Remember, All reviews are well appreciated.

Crystal Snowflakes: Thank you, I'm glad you like my story so much. I loved your new 1chap fic too. It was very awesome, though I didn't cry, it was a very interesting literature. Gets my Excellence Award!

Great Detective: I personally don't like 20page chapters cause it's hard to get readers attracted for so long. My highest was 14 and that was because of the 1week writer block. I like Kogorou, he acts like an idiot sometime but I don't think his a complete fool. He has his… "Cool" sides.

Fanfic Maniac: thanks for reviews lol, I really appreciate it. More Dramas and suspense to come, hope you will enjoy them


	7. Beggining of the End

Ch15

"speeches"

'Thoughts'

Beginning of the End

Going on from last chapter…

"Y…y…you're…" Ai's mouth hung in the midst of air as words cramped at his throat. One hand clutched her chest while the other covered her mouth, "Hattori Heizou!"

"I've heard a small amount about you from my son, but I never thought that you would be that betrayer Sherry," the figure chuckled against the darkened background. Gin and Vodka stood near by, keeping their hands together behind their back and standing up straight with their chest stuck high.

"I see…" Ai relaxed her head to her shoulders. She then gave a cocky grin upon her lips as her bangs came down to her eyes, blocking out the little light in the room. "this explains why police reports about any member of the organization never stays for long huh," she chuckled.

"That is true in most cases for I do have the superior authority but there are files that even I could not have gotten rid of. However, I keep them under severe security so that maybe one or two idiots have access to them. They still cannot act until they get my permission, and if they get too close, I can always get rid of them with a wave of my hand. It's like crushing ants," he laughed.

"You little sniveling…" Ai glared through her bangs.

"You don't seem to know your status right now Sherry," the Oosaka chief of police cut in. "You are in my office, talking to me face to face. You, are not in the point of authority here, I am! I hold your life in my hand, or would you prefer do die here?"

Ai stopped her lips and bit down hard on her tongue, still shooting a bitter leer upon the cynical face of the man. "You are but a pawn to me, easy to sacrifice. I merely wished to see the face of the one that dared to betray my organization and has lived for so long to tell about it," he sat back into his chair and sucked his back into the foamy leather. "Now then, do you have any names that you wish to tell me? Who was helping you through this time…"the man held to listen for an answer, but hearing no reply, his short patience began to run out, "We can do this the hard way or the easy way. You are choosing your life or death, so why don't you relax already and spill it!"

Her mind flipped quickly to the young man who betrayed her. Her heart blackened and anger built as she began to put blames upon him. She bit her lip and giving a deep breath, she swallowed her fury away. "You won't get a word out of my mouth!" she said plainly, putting her usual mask back upon her face.

She would never tell him. He was the man whose life was wrecked by her. He was the man that accepted her despite of what she has done. He was the man…that she learned to love once more.

"You would save their pathetic life over your own?" said Heizou, "Save yourself, they're only…people," he grunted.

"Kill her? You won't kill her," a voice rang from outside the door. Ai opened her eyes with surprise, breaking her emotionless expression lodged on her face.

"Who's there!" the man shouted with surprise, "I will have you shot for ease-dropping upon my private conversations.

"Shoot me? I'd really like to see how you would do that behind the steel bars of your cell," the teenager chuckled.

Gin and Vodka ready their guns at the door. The knob turned slowly, taking it's time to make it's way around it's full turn. Then, with a sudden force, the door opened abruptly, slamming itself against the wall of the inside. The two opened fire a few round but stopped after noticing that no one was there.

"Your building has been surrounded by the FBI. Give yourself up and we can avoid any unnecessary actions," Shinichi called out.

"You fools! Did you not check her for tracking devices," he turned furiously toward the two that stood by him.

"We did sir, but we found non. What we missed would have been found the moment she came down from the stairs by the metal detectors," Vodka shook his head and explained nervously.

"Kudou Shinichi, how did you find here," Gin demanded, narrowing his eyes.

The young man leaned back against the wall, watching the chaos below as the panicking scientists and engineers were caught one after another by the agents that rushed in through the doors. "Of course you won't find the tracer with a metal detector," he grinned, "it's made from a specially designed type of fiberglass, extremely flexible."

"Impossible, we gave her a thorough search from head to toe and we found nothing of the sort!" Gin shouted.

"Did you take her contacts out too then?" he asked with a smile. Gin's eyelids shot up then gritted his teeth. Ai rubbed her eyes and took one of her contacts out. It didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary.

"How did you know that we weren't going to kill her and that we would bring her here to see the boss!" Gin demanded once more.

"Don't make me laugh. Why would you give me 10days to think about things, and still allow Ran to give me a call just a few days before we are to meet again. I'll tell you why, it was because you wanted her! Gin, if my guess is correct, you are one of the high rank agents of the B.O. If you weren't, you would have probably be killed long ago. You also have an unusual want to kill. I could see that the first time I saw you from your eyes. Yet, you didn't kill me, nor Ran over the 10 days time. This proves that someone ordered you to not to kill. Who can that be to dare command the such a high class, maniacal assassin such as yourself? Only one…your boss himself.

Why would the organization want her back? That was a question that took me a while to figure out. My guess is that since her betrayal, the development of Apotoxin 4869 was put to a halt. The toxin was still under testing and you probably found that it was still detectable by certain types of detectors. This is why you stopped the use of the drug. This is also why you never knew about Haibara's shrinking. If you did use it, then you should have had one or two others who shrunk from the process as well. You needed her to finish its development. I'm also guessing but you probably found out about my condition through the missing profile that the FBI could not find from Belmot's suicide. The missing file was the file about me that she kept in secret for reasons of her own. Upon it had written that I was helping Sherry so you decided to kidnap Ran and force me to give you Ai, or Sherry as you call her, and you planned to kill us. Perhaps you failed today but you would have come back for us some other time.

I was however surprised to find out that, the boss of this huge organization was the Oosaka's chief of police. I can say that I never suspected that until I saw it for myself." He laughed then flared through his eyes out of disgust, "I'm glad that I didn't let Hattori come tonight. What would he say to you if he saw you now. You're a fraud, a disgusting disgrace to what you represent!"

"What do you mean…you saw me?" Heizou gave a glare of anger.

"Ai's contacts act as a camera. I was able to see everything through my shades the entire time. That was why I got in without setting the alarm off, cause I knew what your password was. Oh, and those two janitors upstairs? They're a bit 'tied up' at the moment," replied the boy, folding his arms confidently.

"I must say that you impressed quite a bit there, young detective," Heizou gave a smirk.

"So question now is…Are YOU going to choose the hard way, or the easy way," Shinichi grinned.

"Have you ever heard of anyone choosing the easy way before?" he said calmly as he slid his finger under his desk.

"No, but it doesn't heart to ask," he replied with a cool look on his face.

"I suppose you're right," replied the mastermind.

"What's going on there Kudou-kun?" a woman whispered from his side.

"Oh, you're here! Didn't even know you arrived," looking at the man behind her, he shot a smile and a nod for greeting. The man replied with a similar nod. "Where's Ran?" he asked.

"I told her to wait back with the other boys," Jodie answered.

"Oh really? Who's that then?" Shinichi sighed, pointing his finger through the two agents.

"Well I'll be," said the female FBI agent raising her eyebrows.

"You gotta admit, she's got guts coming here following us," Shuichi smiled.

A young girl walked down the isle below, dodging running men and spinning her head in search for the young detective.

"Should we go get her? It's dangerous down there," Shuichi asked.

"Nah, she can take care of herself," Shinichi looked down confidently. "Hey Ran! Up here!" he called then turning back to the too dumbfounded agents, he chuckled with a wink, "She was going to find us sooner or later, might as well save her some time."

"So, is it going to be the hard way then?" Kudou flung his head to face the entrance to the room.

"I suppose it is," the man replied with a click of a button.

A sudden explosion was heard behind which was quickly followed by the sounds of men, screaming in pain. From their position, they could see flickering light through the entrance to the lab. Their heads turned with a sudden clank and noticed that a metal door had replaced the wooden one and had sealed the room inside.

"Shit," Shinichi clicked his tongue and smashed his fist upon the metal frame. Not even a budge. It was thick, thick enough to withstand almost anything. "Damn it, I can't seem to get a signal. They must have destroyed Ai's contacts," turning back to the door, he yelled through as he waved his fists madly at the heavy metal door, "Haibara! Answer me! Can you hear me? If you can then give me an answer!"

Shuichi started running down the stairs, pushing Ran aside as she made her way up. "Where you going!" Shinichi asked.

"To the control room, that's the only way to open that door!" he yelled back, then turning back to face the direction he was running, he mumbled to himself, "I've tapped into their system once, I can do it again."

A few minutes past when the three waiting figure received a signal in their shades. "Second time is always faster than the first," was the words that came through before the sound of the rising of the heavy door rang into their ears. They dashed inside where they found the small girl lying on the ground, holding her head as a small stream of blood ran from her wound.

"Haibara!" Kudou dashed to her aid. "Haibara! Wake up Haibara! Damn it wake up!" he shook her as he held her head in the palm of his hand.

"K..Kudou..kun?" Ai opened her eyes slowly, "the table…" she whispered.

"Table?" letting the tiny girl down slowly, he walked to where her weak finger pointed. "Oh crap," his eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" Jodie asked.

"It's a timer," he replied, running his hand through his hair and giving it a little tug.

"Self destruct?" she asked.

"Most likely, in 8min 30seconds and counting," he turned his head and forced a smile.

Ai got to her feet and wobbled across the room, giving a weak smile toward the bewildered Ran. "If I remember correctly, it should be this one," she said, pulling out an old book. Opening it, she found a number pad.

"What's the code?" Shinichi asked, taking the book from her hand.

Ai put a hand on her aching head and thought back with everything she had. A sudden jolt came back to her, "Right before I passed out, I remember Vodka asking about the code number. I think they replied it as Moriartie(Not sure about spelling, Holme's rival).

"Moriartie?" Kudou confirmed, putting his hand to his chin with his one pose when he was thinking. "Moriartie, what does he holds…wait it minute, could it be? It can't be that simple can it?"

beep—beep-beep

A rumble was heard as their attention turned to the shelf which slided open to reveal a passage. The floor was stone while florescent lighting ran down the middle of the room in a straight line.

"What was the code?" Ai asked, amazed at the fact that his first guess was correct.

"Moriartie was Holmes' opposite so I just entered the numbers backwards. You gotta tell your boss to make better codes," he laughed.

"His not my boss and he never will be…again," Ai looked down.

Shinichi looked at the girl then changed his face to a more serious look, "Sorry, didn't' mean to get you down," he apologized.

"What are you talking about, I'm fine. Why are you still here? Go chase them, you might still catch up! The timer just reached 7:30, they only have a 2:30 lead to you, now get going before its too late!" Ai gave a small grin before pinching her eyes closed from the pain of her head.

"Ai-chan? I mean, Ai-chan, are you okay?" Ran dropped down to her height and reached over to her though she caught herself not wanting to make the damage worse with her touch.

"Ran-san, go with Shinichi-kun, I'll make my way out myself, don't worry. Just remember that Shinichi-kun do love you and he never meant for anything bad to happen to you," Ai smiled softly as she watched tears form in Ran's eyes.

"I know," she replied quietly.

"Now go!" she commanded.

The three dashed down the seemingly empty tunnel, turning back from time to time to see the small girl struggle her way out of the room. Light flickered above and a slight gust of wind came from in front of them. Their foot steps echoed hurriedly through the quiet passage.

'That's right Ran-san, Kudou-kun loves **you**…' she lowered her eyes then started her zigzag walk down the hall, '…and not me…'

"Shinichi, why is Ai-chan here?" Ran glimpsed over.

"She's sherry," Shinichi replied plainly.

"Her? But she is still just a girl, why does the organization wants her so badly?" Ran questioned.

"She use to be part of it…" Shinichi gave a pause then giving a slight bit of thought, he continued, "The organization want her back, so that she may join them once more. She was one of the geniuses they had, even though she is still very…small. I volunteered to protect her, if you will, and dropped her with professor Agasa." He said, trying not to show his lying through his facial expressions. He was practicing and had become fairly good at it learning from Ai's everyday mono-expression.

Mean While

"Do you think we got away boss?" Vodka asked as he glumped his way down the passage some distance in front of their three pursuers.

"I can't be certain, but maybe…(click click click) Damn it, they're caught up already?" Heizou grinded his teeth together.

"Move it!" Gin shouted. The three picked up their pace as they made down the bright passageway.

(Click Click Click)

"I think that's their foot steps, they must have heard ours and began to run as well," said Shinichi, lowering his brows.

"It's faint, they're still some distance ahead," Jodie added.

"Let's hurry," Ran increased her pace slightly and wait for the other's to match.

"I gotta get out of here," Ai wobbled down the now empty hallway she had come from. Her eyes began to get momentary blurs as sweat slowly rolled down her head, mixed in with the blood of her wound. Looking at the large doorway, she narrowed her eyes bitterly, "Damn it, that explosion must have sealed off the entrance."

Boom

Another explosion was heard from behind. She turned just in time to watch a ball of flame coming from the right, swishing up the wall where it dissolved away. She made her way down the stairs through the door beside her and walked about the labs where shattered glass now replaced the test tubes and flasks that ornamented them before. Brushing aside some shards with her sleeve, she took a seat at a table and looked around. The only people she saw were dead. The FBI had already taken the prisoners outside and all that remained was she.

'So this is where I am to end huh? Even though this was the one place I didn't wish to die upon, I guess I deserve it,' she gave up in her mind. 'Even if Kudou-kun forgives me and the Organization forgives me, I suppose god will not.' She gave a long sigh and lowered her head upon the table. Closing her eyes, she awaited for the finish of the ticking time. A grin crossed her face and she dropped her shoulders and let her thoughts disappeared. 'Living in a world of sorrow…who says life isn't fair…' Her mind trailed off and silenced filled the empty space. Only the crackling of fire seemed to be singing the girl's requiem as it ate its way slowly at the walls.

"Giving up so soon?" a voice came from behind her.

Ai opened her eyes with surprise and spun to find the source. Her eyes widened while her mouth flapped with no sound.

"The girl that endured so much all those years is willing to give up in a place like this?" the man chuckled.

"Shu..ichi…" Ai met his eyes. Her heart filled with a sudden jolt of a mixed feeling between happy, sad, and nostalgic love that she thought she had already lost so many years ago.

"Long time no see, Miyano-san," he shot her a cool smile.

"Shuichi…" tears formed in her eyes. A part of her wanted to jump into his arms and never let go, while another held her back. "Shuichi…"

"I'm glad to see that you remembered my name after all these years. That can't be the only word left in your vast library of your brain can it?" he chuckled.

Tears began to pour from her eyes uncontrollably. Thinking back, when was the last time she had ever cried like so. Never…never since the last time they had met. She turned her face away to hide her tears and tried to wipe them away with the back of her hand. It didn't work, the moment she brushed some off, other's followed closely behind. The sensation of the howling winds and the pounding rain came shooting back through her nerves. "You idiot!" she yelled out with a choke. The man raised an eyebrow at the unexpected reply. "Now I can't let myself die cause I got to make sure you'll live!" she said, jumping off her chair and stood on her feet, holding the table with her hand to keep her from falling over.

"Shiho! What's wrong!" Shuichi shouted, noticing the wound on her head. "What happened to you!"

"It's nothing, they hit me on the head before running away, just a light little scratch," she replied.

"Oh Bull shit, look at that blood!" Shuichi ran over to assess the damage. "Geeze, I think they put a crack on your skull."

"We don't have time to be playing doctors right now, this place is going to blow in (checks watch) less than 4 minutes," she pulled away from his hold.

"I know, I saw when I got back to the room," Shuichi looked away, "I ran back to the control room but couldn't stop it. I was just looking for a way out when I found you."

"Common let's get going, we got no time to waste. We have to find a way out!" Ai took a step outwards then stumbled to her knees the moment she let go of her hand.

"You're in no condition to move," Shuichi said then pulled her to him. Before she could protest, he lifted her to his chest. She resisted at first feeling embarrassed about being carried but then stopped from a squeeze of his arms. Slowly, she relaxed in his arms and with a slight blush on her cheeks, lowered her head upon his shoulders. The scene was like a father, reunited with his daughter after a long year's journey more than the denying love between two people.

"You've grown old," Ai laughed lightly.

"And you're more cuter than before," Shuichi replied with a snicker.

Ai rolled her eyes as she glimpsed the side of his face from his shoulders than rested her head back down.

"Common, let's go find a way out of this hell hole," Shuichi whispered to her ear than jogged forward, turning his head from one side to another, focusing every detail around him to his eyes.

End…

I hope this chapter was better than the last two. They didn't exactly have too much drama in them and I felt that they were really mediocre.

PLEASE REVIEW! Next chapter will probably be the height of the story! I promise you that it will be the best I'll have ever written!(crosses fingers)

All reviews are well appreciated

Crystal Snowflake: Here you go. It's really a great honor to have a wonder writer such as yourself taking a likes to my work. Thanks a lot!

Fanfic Maniac: That's who the boss was. I didn't really elaborate him in this chapter but don't worry, things will clear up in next chapter!

Meitantei Mystery: Thank you, I'm trying my best PLEASE UPDATE star crossed lovers! Can't wait to see its ending lol.

Anime Obsession: Updated, just as you wished.


	8. Caught up

Ch16

"speeches"

'Thoughts'

Caught up

"There they are!" Shinich yelled out, locating the three figures in front.

Three heads turned at the voice as they made their dash for the opening up ahead. All breathed heavily from their marathon and their paces fell slightly. Sweat trickled upon their faces as the cool night wind from the exit clashed upon their face which applied slight comfort.

"Damn it, they caught up!" Gin narrowed his eyes.

"The exit is just up ahead, split up there into the forest," Heizou ordered.

"Understood," Vodka replied firmly.

The three pursuers kept their paces to match the criminal's so that they won't run out of energy when they do finally catch up to them. The three dashed outside, into the darkened forest. From their distance, Shinichi could only see 1 going to the left and 2 to the right.

"Damn it, they've split up! Mrs Jodie, you go chase the 1 and Ran and I will go after the other 2. I got a thing I have to settle with Gin," he glared bitterly.

"Alright, good luck to you," she acknowledged with a nod.

"Also, contact the back ups and any teams that aren't doing anything. Once we're out of this place, we should be able to establish connection with the satellites again, if we don't already have it now," said he.

"Let's see, 'calling all teams, calling all teams. Give me an answer if you are able to hear this communications, answer if you hear this,'" she called.

"We…he..you. Sligh…disturb..ce but we..understand," a breaking voice came over.

"Listen carefully, seal off this entire area. Get the Japanese police if you need to, just surround off all exit or no exit on an 100m radius, did you get it?" she ordered.

Silence.

"Did you get the message?" she asked once more.

"A..Affirmative, …firmative," the voice returned.

Oosaka A few minutes Later

"Today, the major corporation Ikazu inc. had declared bankruptcy after last month's huge decline in investor support. Because of it, many believe that there maybe the biggest crisis since great depression of 1929 in the United States of America," the news reporter said.

Heiji nearly fell asleep upon his bed as he watched the night news. 'Boy, is this ever boring. Don't they got some murder case or something more exciting then some rich guy getting poor again?' he thought.

The news reporter flinched slightly when he was giving a white paper. He glanced through it then looked up with a questioning look. Seeing the cameraman's nod, he cleared his throat and continued.

"This just in, the FBI has called the Japanese Police Enforcement in catching a criminal of a major crime syndicate. The head man's name is…Hattori Heizou, and he is on the run," the reporter said with disbelief.

Hattori's eyes jolted open and crawled over against the TV. He turned the volume up slightly but kept it low enough so that it will not wake his sleeping mother.

"Though not much information has been given out, this Oosaka's chief of police is said to be a very dangerous man. Though the police are sealing off the area to where he is believed to be, they tell the citizens of northern Chiba (Shows location and picture of place) to be on the lookout for this man (Picture shows behind him) or any suspicious characters in they see."

"That's B.S.!" he exclaimed. 'My father? No, there must be some mistake! Crime syndicate, didn't Kudou say something abou…(Gasps)' his eyes flared with shock as he jumped off his bed and grabbed his jacket. He changed the channel on the TV before bursting out of his door.

'Damn it, how can this be. What the hell is going on…' he clenched his eyes shut for a few seconds as he dashed down the street for the train station.

(Back to the hide out)

The crackling of the fire now raced up the walls. Even the stone pillars that supported the heavy load above had been heated glowing red. Droplets of salty water fell to the floor from the exhausted man's face as the small girl he held breathed heavily, gasping for air, though each inhale burned her lungs. They kept their height low in an attempt to get away from the dense smoke that circled above. The man would occasionally stretch to the side to relieve the pain from his back, all the while taking his struggling steps through the firry

Abyss.

"You can't keep this up," Ai whispered weakly.

"I have to," he replied looking from side to side.

"Leave me here and run, it is because of me that you must drag your feet isn't it?" she struggled from his grip but the pain on her head quickly stopped her.

"You're a fool, you know that I will never leave you," he answered with a smile.

"Why…"

"What d'you mean?"

"That day, that final day that ended our relationship. You hated me then, you pointed a gun to my head,"

Silence

"You told me that the next time you see me, you were going to put me behind bars. So then why are you saving me now?"

Shuichi narrowed his eyes in a lonely expression. "Truthfully, even I did not know what I was going to do if I saw you again. I had thought how I should confront you, I had practiced them in my head, ever since I was told by Julie about this plan. I knew if I was to come, I could not avoid seeing you once more."

"You practiced?"

"You know how a guy would practice what he will say to a girl before he goes on his first date with her, but then when the time comes, he would forget everything and words would just seem to come to him?"

Ai nodded, then smiled in her heart.

"The words I said to you when I saw you faced down on the table just came randomly."

"You still haven't answered my question, why did you save me. Furthermore, why are you trying so hard to save me?"

"I…I…" he hesitated before speaking, "I guess I still loved you."

Ai opened her eyes wide. Tears formed under the bottom arc of her eye. She snuggled her head upon his shoulder and smiled comfortingly facing her face opposite of his.

Some say that love never dies, perhaps they are right. Or perhaps love do die, but can easily be revived. Through acts of hatred, isolationism, or conflict, love may die. As the years flown by, even time itself have nearly forgotten about the two's affections to one another. Yet it still come back, though their sincere attitude they had once before had faded away, their bonds remained strong.

A door caught the attention of the tired agent. "Can that be a way out?" he exclaimed with hope.

"not sure," Ai replied. Something about the door seemed familiar. Not only that, ever since she had entered this place, a distinct since of familiarity was running through her mind. She did not know what it was, she had never been here and yet, she feels as though she has.

(In the Mountain)

Gin stopped his steps upon a rocky opening in the mountains. A small waterfall sounded in the background. Vodka stopped beside him, bending his back down as he gasped for air. "Why have we stopped Aniki, they'll be here any second," Vodka questioned.

"Fool, they'll catch up to us eventually anyways. We might as well face them," he replied with a chuckle. 'Kudou Shinichi, get over here. You want me? Well here I am, let's finish this once and for all.' He gave a evil grin and stuck his hand in his pocket and grabbed his pistol.

A giant rocky wall stood to one side as the road slightly curved from one side to another. A few boulders stuck it's head out from the ground where a small river trickled a few feet below. The mist from the fall chilled the night air and washed the men's faces. The tubby one wiped his face repeatedly while his partner stood without any unnecessary movement as he glared coldly at the corner.

The sound of the steps grew louder. Shinichi's eyes widened suddenly, then extended his arm to signal Ran to stop.

"What's going on?" Ran asked.

"They stopped," he answered.

"Why?"

"I don't know? What are they planning…"

"Kudou Shinichi!" a voice exclaimed from ahead, "I know you're there. Why not just finish this now, you and I!"

Shinichi narrowed his eyes. "You sound confident," he chuckled.

"and you, not a sign of fear in your voice," he congratulated.

Shinichi gave a smile and walked toward the voice. His hand reached down to the knob upon his belt while twisting the switch upon his new blue sneakers. The shoe showed no sign of change, not even the sound of electricity charging, not even the unusual glow it gave like the last model.

The moon was unusually bright that night. It seemed to give the glow of day. The ground reflected every detail under its silver light. He could even see the details upon the trunks of distant trees. The road turned to reveal a cliff. He could tell it was not too high, 10…15feet? He could see a line of bright lights that surrounded the base of the mountain.

Ran followed him closely, looking in all directions nervously. He took a quick glance around the corner, a large boulder blocked his view of the road ahead. The smile upon Gin's face grew slightly larger.

"Come out Kudou Shinichi!" he demanded, "I can hear your steps."

Kudou made his way behind the boulder cautiously, holding Ran's hands as he leaned his back against it. "Gin," he chuckled, "I've finally caught up to you. It makes me happy just thinking that I could take you down today, here, right now."

"You are welcome to try," Gin laughed, then turning to his partner he whispered, "Do not interfere, he is mine…" he shot a glare.

Vodka gave a nod of fear, 'geeze, I've been with him for 18years and I still can't get use to his glare' he shivered then sat down upon a ledge.

Kudou turned the knob upon his belt. A ball inflated before him and bounced upon the ground. He stopped it with his feet and readied his watch. Ran shot him a questioning look before assuming that it was probably best not to ask about his gadgets. She guessed that it was probably just another few inventions of the professor and shrugged her shoulders.

The young detective peeped from the boulder slowly. He could see two men, one standing and the other sitting ahead. A few more rocks zigzagged along the road between him and his enemy. Turning back, he closed his eyes. Then with a sudden jolt, his eyes popped open and he tapped the top of his ball with his foot. He pulled Ran in and squeezed her to his chest with one arm and shot a smile. A small blush came across the young girls cheeks as she raised her eyes to his. The ball bounced slightly into the air and he kicked it up a bit more for height. Then with a deep breath as the ball lost it's will to gravity, he gave it one final hard kick.

Gin's eyes widened as he saw a circular object bouncing off the rocks toward him. The speed was incredible, it was like a giant bullet. It was pure reflex that made him jump back. Kudou rolled out from behind his shield and raised his wrist. A needle flew through the air and pierced itself upon the man's left arm. 'Did I do it?' he thought to himself.

A smile grew upon the Gin's face as he raised his gun and took aim. Kudou was still recovering from his roll. "Do you think your cheap tricks will work on me every time?" he laughed pulling the needle out of his jacket.

PSHOOT!

Shinichi dropped to the ground at the sound of the fire. The bullet narrowly missing him as it skid the top of his head. He them leaped behind a separate boulder and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

End…

And so, the showdown begins. Will Ai make it out alive from her pit of fire? Who will live and who will die? And what will happen to Hattori? Next chapter, The Climax!

Good drama? Bad drama? Not enough drama? Please read and review!


	9. Kaishi

Ch17

"speech"

'Thought'

Kaishi

Shinichi glanced from behind the rock. A shot was heard and a spark flew, only inches away from his nose. He ducked back immediately. "Is that all you got?" a deep voice called sheepishly, "How pathetic, hiding behind there won't do you any good. Come out and face me!" he demanded.

The high school detective narrowed his eyes bitterly. His eyes widened abruptly as the sound of foot steps entered his ear. 'The only weak spot that my needle can still pierce is the upper portion of his neck and his face. Against this darkness, I can't even aim properly. What can I do, come on, think!' His mind searched vigorously for a solution.

He pulled to the tiny package he carried with him and opened the lid. "Paralysis was the red one," he mumbled to himself. Slowly, he loaded his watch with 3 red needles he identified with the light from his watch. "Why did you want Sherry so badly?" Shinichi asked, raising a topic.

Gin stopped his steps, "Did you not already figure that out back there?" he questioned.

"I deduced of why your boss wanted her, but why do you want her?" he said as he prepared himself for a lunge.

"What are you saying," Gin narrowed his eyes.

"You left her alive back there. I'm asking why. You had your chance to kill her, a pretty long time too, yet you kept her alive. Why…" he asked, swallowing his saliva.

Gin bit his teeth together before returning his face back to its original cold grimace, "I have my reasons," he said calmly, "Why do you wish to know?"

"I…have my reasons," he remarked. Hearing a hmph from Gin's lips, he jumped out from his hide out and took a quick aim then shot twice.

The tall blond man jumped back from the sudden attack and fell backwards in an attempt to dodge the skinny missiles. One skimmed past his ear with a whoosh and another bounced off his cloak. He landed upon the dusty floor heavily. The dust that rose forced him to close his eyes. 'Here's my chance!' Kudou thought. Then with a quick turn of his wrist, he let loose his final shot.

A piercing sting fell upon the neck of the fallen man as he immediately attempted to pull the needle from his skin. It was too late, it had already been fully absorbed. He glared furiously and shot wildly through the falling dust. Vodka jumped off his seat at the event and was running to aid his partner.

Bullets flew aimlessly in the dark. The first thing that got to Kudou's mind was, was Ran safe. He took a quick glance to where she was. From the shadows, he could see that she was a bit shaken up but did not seem injured. Another gunshot jolted him back from his relief. He got to his feet and dashed for a near by cover.

The firing stopped. He took a look from his position. He could see the shadow of a tubby man kneeling down beside his partner, a hand gun in his right hand. Vodka looked up and pressed a button on the side of his sunglasses.

'So his got night-vision too huh," Shinichi thought.

"You little bastard, what did you do to Aniki?" Vodka demanded, "I swear I'm going to shoot you down!" he screamed.

He dragged his partner to the side of the wall. Gin breathed slowly, not saying a word. The only part of his body that moved was his eyes, glaring angrily in the moon lit night.

Vodka walked quietly, looking for side to side for any movements.

'Damn, his not giving any chances for me to make a move.' The sliding of sand caught from behind caught his attention. He turned around then his eyes widened with fear.

"Shinichi…?" Ran walked toward him believing things were safe.

His head jolted back to the front. The head of the pistol reflected the lunar light as it rose silently into the air.

"RAN! GET DOWN!" he yelled.

"Eh?" the girl stopped her steps in panic, not knowing what was happening.

A dark smirk grew upon Vodka's face as he took aim upon his target.

Shinichi lunged toward the bewildered girl. She closed her eyes. A moment of silenced followed before it was broken by a single shot. Ran felt a sudden impact from her side. She opened her eyes, but everything was just a red blur. She landed upon the ground then slided a few feet back. She felt a sudden tug and felt her body leave the ground once more but this time, her head landed softly upon a warm thumping surface. She could feel something wet seeping through clothing around her waist. She did not know what it was.

Vision slowly returned to her eyes as a young man's smile formed in her focus. "You okay Ran?" he asked.

She felt his hands embracing her tightly, pushing her from the back to his chest. She blushed slightly and for a short moment, her eyes met the young detective's. She could see some precipitate erupting from his forehead. He breathed heavily but kept his cool smile upon his face. The sensation of the wetness of her shirt came back to her as she shifted her position to find the source. In the shadow of the rock, she could not see anything but a black fluid dripping from her fingers as she brushed the soaked area. Shinichi gave a groan triggered an uneasy feeling inside the young woman's chest. Her hand began to quiver as she reached toward the outskirts of the shadow.

Her heart froze as she observed blood dripping from the tips of her dangling fingers, falling to the floor with a small splattering snap. "Shin…inchi, you're…" she gasped.

"Hey, don't look so pale, I'm fine. It's just a little scratch, nothing big," he said trying to console her. Another groan shot from his throat as the pain from his abdomen shot it's way up his spine into his head.

"You're not okay, you got shot and…" a sudden chill ran through the young woman's body, "and…it was all because of me." She bit her lip and tried to hold her tears in.

"Common, it's not your fault," Shinichi pulled her in and gave her a squeeze on her shoulders.

"Yes it was," Ran shook her head. Tears flowed freely from her eyes, "It's because I was stupid enough to let myself out of that rock that let that man see me…"

"Hey dry those tears, stop sprinkling salt on my wound," he joked, trying to put a smile back upon the girl's face.

"I'm sorry," she brushed away her tears, only to allow more to take it's place.

The footsteps of their hunter closing in slowly.

"Ran, listen…" Kudou whispered. He tried to relax but each time his muscles calmed, a new surge of pain would force it to tense back up. Ran brought her teary eyes closer to his face. "I'm sorry," he said.

"What? Why are you apologizing to me? I'm the one that should be saying sorry to you," Ran said.

"I'm sorry (groans) I'm sorry for all the times I couldn't be there for you. The time you had amnesia I left you all by yourself. The time on that airplane, I could only give you directions through the phone. And now, when I'm finally together with you, I dragged you into a mess like this. You were right, I am just all talk, I'm sorry Ran," he said with a sad expression upon his face then pulled her head to his shoulders and hugged her in a tight embrace. Ran let out a small whimper then weaped upon his shoulder.

Shinichi narrowed his eyes, returning to a more serious appearance, "His coming," he whispered.

Ran's eyes opened widen then narrowed. Leaving the comforts of his hold, she leaned over to get a better look on the man's position. She turned feeling a tap upon her shoulder. A pair of sunglasses were held in Shinichi's hand as he extended them to her. "I knew you would follow me so I told the prof to make one extra pair. Wear it and press the yellow button on top. That should let you see better in this forsaken darkness,"

Ran put the glasses on and did as she was told. The area lit up with an astonishing radiance of colors. The trees, the river, the brown soil of the ground, everything was as clear as day. She turned to Shinichi excitedly but her joys quickly ended when she saw the horrid condition of the teenage detective.

The red blood poured from the side of his abs like a waterfall. Not even the dried dirt below could soak up so much and a medium sized puddle formed around the young man's buttocks. Her head jolted back, hearing the click of a pistol. She leaned over once more and saw Vodka looking in all directions, scanning every corner as he paced forward cautiously.

Through his glasses, he could see nothing but green outlines of boulders and the ledge that lead to the rocky shore of the river below. He did not know whether he actually hit anything, the only thing he remember is aiming at a girl that suddenly disappeared. He noticed a faint trail of blood, leading to one particular area behind a rock. A maniac grin flew upon his face as he approached.

"Come out! I know where you are," he called to the hiding couple.

"Damn it, he found us," Shinichi cursed. Ran gave a loud gasp and leaned closer to him with fear in her eyes.

(Elsewhere)

"Kudou Shinichi, can you hear me?" a woman called pushing up her glasses nervously, "Kudou Shinichi, answer if you can hear this message!"

"Any luck?" one of the crew asked.

"No, too much interference in these mountains," she replied, "I'm sure his fine, he can take care of himself. Did you find Heizou?" she asked.

"We've spotted him and our men are in pursuit. It shouldn't be too long before we have him," he answered firmly.

"Good, we need to get him. We have to get him! If you need more men, then take as many as you wish. Just get him behind bars as soon as possible general Headral," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" came a confident reply.

(Sound: oooOOOoooOOO)

"The fire department have arrived," Headral said listening to the sound of sirens.

A smile rose upon the woman's lips and she dropped her shoulders in relief. A sudden jolt erupted in her that dissipated the smile and tensed her muscles once more. "Where's Shuichi!" she asked.

Headral flipped his brow, "I…don't know ma'am, I thought he went with you guys," he said.

Her mouth opened wide with terror, "No…we separated…his still…" She spun her head to the direction of the lab. Flames now shot up high as the smoke cut it's way through the clouds. A few agents circled the burning structure and had cut down some of the vegetation in an attempt to contain the fire. It was to their luck that there wasn't any wind that night. The intense glow of heat rose up like a pillar that connected hell to heaven. The chemicals from the lab gave occasional flashes of different colors from dark blue to a bright red. It would have been a fantastic scene for if it weren't so deadly.

Jodie dashed up the hill with great hurry. She noticed that the entrance door was now gone and in it's place stood a wall of debris. "Put that fire out!" she ordered.

"We can't ma'am, one of the member said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Shuichi!" she yelled into the flames, "Shuichi answer me," she said tapping her pair of sunglasses, "Hello? Are you there? Damn it, this thing don't even work," she cursed.

"SHUICHI!"

End…

Shinichi's climax has been reached. Next chapter, what's going on with Shuichi and Ai? Is there something going on between Jodie and the "Silver Bullet"? What's going to happen with Ran now that Kudou is down and Vodka is pointing his gun at them.

Common, I didn't think the last chapter was that bad. Only 3 reviews? (curls up in a corner)

As for the 3 who reviewed, I love you guys, lol.

The number1 case closed lover: I left a cliffy? Hmm I actually thought that, that wasn't too bad. Cliff hanger's are so fun.

Crystal Snowflake: Come on, update your stories too. Must read!

Anime Obsession:

Kaishi means to being for those who wondered what the title meant.

Remember all reviews are well appreciated.


	10. Loosing Thy Loved

"Speech"

'Thought'

Last time:

Red blood poured from the side of his abs like a waterfall. Not even the dried dirt below could soak up so much and a medium sized puddle formed around the young man's buttocks.

"Come out! I know where you are," he called to the hiding couple.

"Damn it, he found us," Shinichi cursed. Ran gave a loud gasp and leaned closer to him with fear in her eyes.

A sudden jolt erupted in her that dissipated the smile and tensed her muscles once more. "Where's Shuichi!" she asked.

Headral flipped his brow, "I…don't know ma'am, I thought he went with you guys," he said.

Jodie dashed up the hill with great hurry. She noticed that the entrance door was now gone and in it's place stood a wall of debris. "Put that fire out!" she ordered.

"We can't ma'am, one of the member said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Shuichi!" she yelled into the flames, "Shuichi answer me," she said tapping her pair of sunglasses, "Hello? Are you there? Damn it, this thing don't even work," she cursed.

"SHUICHI!"

Ch18

Losing Thy Loved

Water shot out from the hose of the fire trucks rapidly, evaporating the moment it touched the flames. The only sign of it's effects were the dark dense smoke that rose from the sudden chills of the dust that flew up from the embers. Excluding the teams that chased after Heizou, all hands were brought against the fire.

Panic began to set in Jodie's eyes. She paced nervously, back and force before the collapsing structure, praying that it will remain standing for the up coming minute, then pray for the next minute when the last had passed.

"Why isn't the fire put out yet? It's been almost 15minutes!" she exclaimed.

"I'm sorry ma'am," one of the fire chief said, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "It is just too intense."

"It is because of the chemicals," a FBI scientist walked up, looking down at his clip board.

"Chemicals?" Jodie asked.

"Yes, the fire is receiving an abnormal amount of fuel from the chemicals inside the structure. Also, even if we put out the surface fire, we can never put out the fire itself, "he replied pushing up his glasses.

"Explain yourself," Jodie commanded.

"Alcohol fires," he said in a simple tone, "You see, alcohol fires can not be put out by water. If anything, water will just spread it. This is why on some areas, it will start burning once more after the outside fire is put out. The only thing we can do is continue to pour water upon the outside to cool it down and hopefully, that will keep the building from collapsing until all the alcohol is burnt up and the fire put out."

"And how long is that going to take?" Jodie said, growing slightly more agitated.

"Well…we do not know…" the scientist shifted his glance.

"Damn it, this isn't good. This is bad…Very bad…" she said as she narrowed her eyes.

(Inside)

Coughs went up as two figures continue to ponder their way through the intense heat the burnt their lungs. Overhead was a thick overcast of charcoal smoke. Their faces now turned black from the ashes that flew from the blazes and their skin tingled each time another spark landed it's way upon them.

Haibara looked up at the door that closed in slowly each step Shuichi took. 'This place…I know I've seen it somewhere else…' she thought, 'Where did I…wait a minute…could it be?' "Shuichi, wait!" she shouted.

The man stopped his steps and glanced to his side at the tiny girl coughing upon his shoulders, "What is it?" he asked.

"We can't go in there," she said abruptly.

Shuichi's eyes opened with question, "Why not?"

"Just trust me, we can't go there!" she said with slight fear and frustration in her voice.

"But that could be a way out," he argued, "and even if it's not, it might still not be affected by the flames. If it remained shut until now, that room could be the only room that is not engulfed by fire."

"No, we can't go in there!" she exclaimed.

Shuichi looked over sadly and was about to turn around when another explosion sounded from their back. Another ball of fire erupted down the lab, embedding itself in the smoke where it ultimately was engulfed by its black masses.

"I don't know why you don't want to go in there," he said, "But we can't go back now and that's our only chance. I'm going there and that's final!"

"But…!" Ai was about to argue but was forced to held her tongue when another pain shot through the back of her head.

"And you're hurt, we need to find a place for you to cool down. That room will still be warm but it should be cooler than out here," he smiled and picked up his pace to the door.

Haibara watched weakly at his hand as it took grasp of the knob. A sizzling sound was heard as he retrieved his hand from the metallic knob from pain. "Damn it that's hot!" he said shaking his hand.

"Yea, now stop trying so hard and find a different place," Ai insisted.

"There is NO other place, I'll get us in!" Shuichi said as he took a deep breath through his nose and reached for the handle once more.

"Wait!" Ai shouted. But it was too late, his hand had already reached it's target.

"Ahh!" Shuichi screamed as he forced his hand to remain in a grasp as he turned the knob and pushed the door open. Even though he had put his sleeve over his hand as a layer to protect his hand from direct contact, the heat was nearly unbearable. Looking inside, a smile of relief flared upon his face, "Great, finally a room that wasn't locked," he laughed.

'…' Haibara only looked around but she said nothing.

"Just as I thought," Shuichi said looking about the empty room, "The fire has not gotten to this room yet."

"Yea…" Haibara said forcing out a smile, then shifted her glance to the side.

Shuichi lowered her against a wall and closed the door quickly so that no more smoke can enter than what had already gone in with a kick. A small metallic frame caught his attention, which had a wooden handle upon it. 'Is that…' he narrowed his eyes.

"Yes it is," Ai said as she bit her lips, "That is a garbage shoot. It leads to the out side."

"You knew about it? How? And why did you try to prevent me from coming here?" he asked.

"I knew because I realized that this place's design is exactly the same as my original lab. I couldn't tell at the start cause well, it has been quite some time since I've seen it. This room confirmed my suspicion because it was a room such as this that I was held captive in. Thanks to Apotoxin4869, I was able to escape from a shoot just like that after relieving myself of the handcuffs," he explained.

"That's great, you can escape and run to safety!" Shuichi shouted with excitement, "Come on, you can get out of this hell hole!"

"and that is the reason why I didn't wish for you to come in," she chuckled.

"Why? I don't get it, why would you want to stay in a place like this?"

"BECAUSE!… because I wanted to stay with you…"

A moment of silence crossed the room. Ai's blush was camouflaged against the reddish glow that entered from under the door. Collecting her courage, she forced herself to continue.

"I love you OK! I thought I would be able to forget about you, I thought I could get over that rainy day and put you behind forever! But I couldn't…To this day, I still can't through away that stupid shoebox with the pendant and the first rose you gave me. If I come here, I knew you were going to force me to escape from that shoot. But what about you? You can see that, that tiny place can't fit a man like you."

"I don't care, if I can't fit through then so be it! But you, you can still go! You have a chance to live!"

"A chance to live what? Don't you see, I'm the one that caused this mess. You found out and became so obsessed about the B.O. because I was a member of it. Now, you're stuck in a burning building with no way out. If you die, I would be the one that killed you if you die!"

Sweat ran down in drops down the two's cheeks. Their eyes met one another for a split second before they changed their glance to opposite directions once more.

Shuichi bit his lip and narrowed his eyes. "I don't care what you think about me," he said coldly. Ai looked up surprised at his reaction, "Whatever we had going on years ago can never return! Right now, you're someone that needs help and I'm the rescuer. It is my job to get you out and that's the only reason why I'm doing this. So I'm going to get you out and that'll be that!"

"Bull shit, you don't really expect me to believe you. I'm not some animal that you raised that you're releasing back to the wild you know," she said with a hint if urgency.

"I should have never taught you how to look into people's eyes," Shuichi chuckled.

He walked over slowly, Ai squeezed herself against the wall. "What are you…" she gasped but before she could finish, she felt his hand raise her chin and his lips upon hers. Her eyes widened as she blushed through her cheeks. She felt a silent sting to her neck as her eyes began to fall. Darkness took her, her head plopped down as consciousness left her.

Standing back up, Shuichi took a glance at the watch he had received from the teenage detective. 'Wow, this stuff really works,' he thought raising his eyebrows with admiration. Picking the sleeping girl from her spot, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her head, going over the wounded area twice. He carried her to the shoot and opened the hatch.

Holding the tiny girl in his hand he could still not believe that this was the woman he had loved. 'That looks like a long drop, I hope it's not straight,' he chuckled nervously. He took one last, long, pensive look at her and released her after placing her back straight against the side. Hearing the sound of her gliding against the wall, he let out a relief of sigh, 'Enjoy your slide,' he laughed with a sad expression and turned back to the closed door.

He walked up to it and placed his palm against it's metallic board. The heat forced him to retrieve it on contact. 'Damn it, it's really burning out there,' he cursed and moved to the back of the room. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath as he watched his life flash before his eyes.

(Shinichi)

"Come out you little brat, I know you're behind that rock," Vodka laughed confidently.

The young detective bit his teeth together as he leaned back, gluing his back against the boulder. Placing his hand upon his wound, he felt something, something round. 'What is that?' he grasped it. Sticking his hand in his pocket, he felt the object. It was hard and slightly heavy. Then a sudden memory shot back into his mind.

"Here Conan-kun, I won it at the department store. You know, those things where if you buy their goods, you get a chance to win a prize. That was the please try again reward." Ran laughed, "I thought you might like it, kids always like shiny round things don't they?"

'What's this doing here?' he puzzled as he brought the ball out. A sudden idea flooded into his head, 'maybe I could use this,' he gave a grin. "Ran," he whispered at the girl who peeped from the rock to the approaching man.

She turned around from his call.

"Listen carefully, this might be our last chance," (Ran leans over and he whispers)

Vodka closed in step by step, still cautious about what to come. A spherical object flew from behind the rock, he immediately fired his gun upon the object out of reflex, blurning his vision from behind his night vision goggles. (Fact: Night vision goggles focus the dim light through its lens so it becomes blurry upon sudden movements) The sudden blindness caught him off guard, forcing him to miss his target and spin about to search for his where about. A smirk arose from Shinichi's lips as he whispered, "Now."

Ran dashed out and gave out everything she had to the tubby assassin. One last things came into focus of his lens and that was the flying fist of an angry girl. Hearing the sound of the beating, Shinichi jumped out and readied his watch, "Ran, get out of the way," he shouted.

Ran jumped from her spot one step to the side. The sound of the flying needle rang through the air as Vodka felt a sharp pain to his neck. 'Bullseye,' Shinichi laughed and watched the man fall to his face. He let out a sigh of relief. He could hear the sound of a helicopter getting closer and closer.

"We did it Shinichi!" Ran called waving her arms joyfully. Something suddenly caught her attention. 'That ball he threw up, it looked kind of familiar.' She thought, but with a shrug she smiled and waved again.

"Yea," Shinichi raised his arm but quickly pulled it back to his wound.

Laughter returned to the two.

"Kudou…Shinichi…" Gin whispered as he struggled in the dark using everything he had to grasp his gun. Raising his gun with his shaky hands, he took air on a shadow he saw through his weakened vision.

(Click)

The sound entered the teenage detective's ear sharply, piercing down to his chest with such force that his heart seemed to stop for a split second. He turned and saw the glimmer of the head of a handgun as it reflected the light of the moon. Narrowing his eyes, he dropped the ball in his hand and pulled back his leg.

(Bang, bang…bang)

Blood scattered against the silenced laughter, just as his foot came in contact against the hard stone ball. Gin's face widened as the orb came into site of his eyes, only to realize it was too late. The ball cracked itself upon his face, knocking it hard against the rocky wall behind. He held his hand to the point of impact. Pain shot through him but he did not scream nor groan. Sticking his tongue out, he collected some blood upon it. 'Bitter' he thought, before he collapsed upon the floor.

"Ran…Ran? RAN!" he staggered his way across. His could no longer feel his own pain as he took sight of the blood bath before him. She lay still, not a single movement, while color decipated from the surface of her skin. "Ran!" he shook her, no reply came, "Don't do this to me Ran, you gotta wake up!"

A beam of light shot from above, lighting up the area, "Hey, is everyone okay down there?" a voice called.

Shinichi continued to shake her, even with all his experience with bodies he had seen, this one he could not bare. "Wake up Ran! WAKE UP!" he shouted, not even listening to the calls from above.

The chopper landed next to the two as two men ran out. "Ms. Jodie, we've located Kudou Shinichi!" one of the man yelled into the walky-talky.

The two men kneeled beside the fallen girl. As one pried Shinichi from her, the other inspected her conditions. Bending down his ear to her face, his eyes lit up with a slight bit of hope, "She's still breathing!" he shouted.

Those words were the sweetest words that Shinichi had ever heard. He felt calmness return slowly.

Moments later, the plane took off with 4 new members. 2 handcuffed as they lay in the back, and 2 up front they were treating as it flew.

"Ran…" Shinichi whispered sadly as he extended his hand and brushed her hair from her face.

End…

Who's going to live and who's going to die? What will happen to Heiji? Next chapter, second last chapter! Either the next chapter will be a long one or the final chapter will be. Please wait patiently and you won't be disappointed.

Reviews, reviews, wahh, I'm losing readers only 2reviews for ch9. Hoe many people are actually still reading this fic neways? Oh well, thank you to the two that reviewed for me.

The Number1 Case Closed Lover: Happy ending? Sad ending? You will find out in 2 chapters. I hope you enjoyed this story, and thanks for the review

Crystal Snowflake: Thanks for your awesome support on all my stories. I really really, REALLY appreciate it.


	11. Saving the Last Bit of Dignity

Ch19

"speeches"

'Thoughts'

Saving the Last Bit of Dignity

"Find him, his around here somewhere!" Shouted the team leader as it's members scattered around the area.

"Lieutenant Samuel, perhaps we should call in another team for support. It's a jungle out here, there's too many hiding spots for him to switch around in," complained an officer.

"If he is changing his position, Private," Samuel snarled, "Then you will track and hunt him down. I do not want to hear anymore sissy talk out of you, IS THAT CLEAR PRIVATE!" he exclaimed.

"Yes sir!" the young officer jumped and saluted before he ran out for his search.

In a near by bush, a man glared nervously as he watched the by passing men. 'Damn, I need to find a place to hide. If I keep running around, I risk the chance of being seen again, and if that happens then I don't think I can out run them again,' Heizou thought, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he panted quietly.

(By the Quarantine line of the Police)

Hattori ran down the road, lit by the flashing lights of the police cars as he gasped for air with every step. 'It can't be dad. I must have just heard wrong cause I was tired and mistaken the culprit's name for the police chief's name that's doing the chase. Yea, that's it…that must be it…" he thought, denying his conscience that which screamed to him the truth. Looking down with a confused look of disappointment, he bit his lips and picked up his pace.

He lifted his head as he noticed two lamp posts that marked the entrance to the hiking path up the large forested hill. 'I made it,' he thought as prepared for his turn.

"Whoa there young man, where are you off in such a hurry," an officer called from ahead.

"Let me through! My dad is in there!" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, but I still can't let you in. No one is to enter nor leave this place unless the orders comes from the FBI about it. There is a very dangerous criminal out there you know," the officer replied, blocking his way.

'Damn it, I can't tell them I'm Heiji or they'll never let me in.' Calming his mind and settling down his breathing slightly, he searched in his mind for a quick plan. "You idiot!" he exclaimed suddenly as the officer watched of shock at the young man's rudeness, "I'm an FBI agent!" Hattori finished off by pulling his wallet from his pocket and opening it with a quick flip of a wrist then closed it back up the moment it opened with another flip of his wrist. "I'm sergeant…Hirota, a Japanese coordinator for the FBI!"

Seeing the officer about to extend his arm to his wallet to ask for a closer look, he pushed a step forward, standing only a few inches from the policeman. "Maybe you didn't hear me clearly," he glared as he put the wallet behind his back and slid a small object to the center, " Here, look! Don't you know what this badge stand for?" he shouted with another flip of his wallet with a quick shut, this time revealing a small star like object upon the inside.

The young officer stepped back nervously. He wanted to ask for another closer look, the man that talked to him looked awful young to be what he says he is. But he showed him his badge twice and if he asked once more then he could risk a yelling from his chief for delaying the FBI from doing their job. "Alright, you may pass," he gave in, glancing repeatedly at the young boy who walked confidently in.

"What are you looking at," Hattori growled. The young officer jumped as he spun around and faced the opposite direction.

Hattori made his way up the trail quickly, 'I don't believe it. It worked. It's a good thing I kept that star shaped locket Kazuha gave me.' He thought looking into his wallet.

He was halfway up the mountain when a rustle jumped to his ear. "Who's there!" he demanded, halting his steps. No answer came. He moved toward the area where he heard the rustle cautiously. "I know your there, show yourself!" he demanded once more.

A long hard sigh came from the area and a figure rose from the dense leaves of the bushes. "and so I go down by the hands of the FBI," the man chuckled, "All good things must end I suppose."

'That voice…' "Dad?" Hattori gasped a question as his legs began to tremble in fear of the answer.

The figure's eyes widened with surprise, "He..Heiji! What are you doing here!" he exclaimed.

"I came here after hearing the news tonight…" he whispered, then with a joking smile he flipped his face up, "I actually thought that they said you were the head of some crime syndicate. I heard wrong right? You're after some boss of a crime syndicate right?"

Silence…

"Why won't you answer me!" Hattori cried out with desperation in his voice.

With some difficulty, Heiji managed to squeeze out a cold one word answer of "No".

Hattori bit his lips and clenched his hands into a fist.

"I'm the head of a crime organization widely known as the black organization." Heizou said looking straight into his son's eyes.

Something clicked inside the young Osaka detective but quickly faded away from his anger and disappointment. 'The black organization? My father was the one that was behind everything that happened to Kudou?' "The black organization?" he asked to confirm his thoughts.

"We were making a drug named APTX4869, or apotoxin…but you already know about us now don't you?" he narrowed his eyes.

Hattori jolted and licked his dry lips. The night winds whispered across the tips of the trees as he gazed downward.

"You knew about our presence. I could tell just from looking about the fact that you weren't all that surprised in hearing about the black organization. If I'm correct, you heard about it from Edogawa Conan, that little brat you seem to like so much, or should I call him…Kudou Shinichi." He said putting pressure upon the young detective.

"You knew?" Hattori gasped.

"No, but you just told me," he let out a smirk.

Another strike of anger flew in to Hattori's eyes. "I respected you dad, I thought of you as my hero! You're the Osaka's chief of police, you…you…" Hattori was a lost for words in showing his disgrace.

"Yes, it was beautiful," Heizou chuckled.

Hattori's eyes widened with shock at his father's words. "Alright…FATHER…" he whispered putting slight emphasis on the word father, "Shoot me…" he finished looking down to the ground.

"What?" Heizou's eyes twitched at his son's words.

"If you will not shoot me then I will call the police over, now shoot me," he spoke quietly, still keeping his eyes to the ground, hidden under the shadow of his bangs "All my life, I've been learning from you. The way you solved your countless cases, the way you raised yourself to your current standings through your skills rather than relations. I've wanted to be like you, you were my goal in life…now…I wonder if that was all just an illusion. If you tell me that, that is true then shoot me here and now...If not…then turn yourself in."

Heizou narrowed his eyes pensively as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a gun and pointed its head to the young man before him. Hattori didn't move, not even a flinch at the turn out. He shut his eyes, squeezing out the thin layer of tear that overcastted the surface of his eye into a drop as it fell quietly to the floor.

"You are a good kid Heiji," the old man spoke softly.

(BANG!)

"That was a gun fire!" exclaimed Samuel as he pointed to the direction of the bang. He dashed to it with his crew closely behind.

(BANG, BANG)

"Two more shots? It came from the right! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" His steps froze when he noticed two figures in the dark. One swayed slightly then fell to his rump, the other appears to be raising his hand. He moved in closer and pressed the tiny button on his glasses. A smile found its way to his face as he found the man he was searching for with both hands in the air. "Hattori Heizou, you are completely surrounded. Through down your weapon and give up!"

Hattori looked up from the ground dumbfounded as he saw the gun pointed skyward after losing his balance from the sound of fire. "Dad…?"

"Oh bequiet!" Heizou shouted, "Just hurry up and get over here so I can get this over with."

(Time passes)

"Get in!" one of the agent shoved Heizou to a truck.

"Yea, yea…" turning his had back to the sad figure in the crowed, he gave a call, "Heiji, for whatever you choose this to be worth, I'm proud of you." And went in the truck.

Heiji shifted his glance bitterly and walked away.

(Somewhere down the mountain)

An aching smell stimulated the tiny chemist's nose as vision crawled back into her eyes. The sun has not yet come up but it's radiance can be seen in the distance, just barely showing it's crest upon the hills in the horizon. 'Where am I' she wondered as she looked around. She rose to her feet but her body refused to stay in one spot. The area around her seemed to turn into one direction, then spinning back in an attempt to correct its way but goes slightly overboard and have to come back once again. Looking above, she could see a small window upon a concrete wall. Before her was a small trail that led to a road. Her thoughts quickly collected itself as a sharp pain struck the back of her head. "Shuichi!" she called and picked up her pace to the road. She looked about in search of a vehicle but only the silence of the foggy morning mist greeted her calls. Her spinning vision began to accelerate from her excitement as she collapsed upon the pavement. 'I've lost too much blood, I can't even see straight' Her ears picked up the sound of engines just before her eyes came to a close and all was dark again.

"There's a young girl here!" a voice of a man mumbled through her ears, "I think she's hurt, let's get her to the hospital."

(In the Beika General Hospital)

"Boy what a night that was. 3 gun shot victims in 10hours, it's a dangerous world we live in," the voice of a doctor echoed down the hall.

"Yea, you'd think world war three is starting," the nurse laughed in reply.

"You shouldn't mock things like that, or god will smite you down someday," the doctor replied jokingly.

"Yes sir…" the nurse sighed as she rolled her eyes.

The two laughed as they finished they way down the hall. A young man stirred from his slumber at the sound of laughter. Sweat was forming upon his forehead as he rolled to his side. His eyes opened slowly. Sitting up, he looked to the window. It was blocked by blinds but he could see a faint hint of light making its way through the spaces in horizontal lines. 'It's just before morning,' he thought as he licked his lips. Pain still aroused in his abdomen but it was tolerable. He moved slowly to the door and slide the door open. The hallway light forced him to squint his eyes slightly before they gotten use to its new environment. Still half confused, he began to wonder around the hospital. 'Ran…be okay…' he prayed in his mind.

His eyes fell upon one hazy window, through which he found a familiar brown-red hair. He opened the knob slowly and made his way in. "Haibara?" he whispered looking at the bandage that warped around her head.

The tiny girl snuggled into her sheets before she forced her eyes open. "Kudou…kun?" she asked.

"Yea, it's me. You managed to get out from that place I see," he smiled.

"Yea…" she answered sadly, then turning her head to the other side, she lowered her brow.

A moment of silence came to the room. Kudou stepped forward cautiously. "Are you okay Haibara?" he whispered.

"I'll manage," Ai replied coldly.

"Hey, I'm only trying to help here,"

"Sorry, guess I'm just in a pissy mood from all that."

"How's your head doing?"

"Minor concussion, high loss of blood, no infection."

"I see, well, you can lose a few brain cells and I don't think it will matter." Kudou laughed. Ai shot him a glare. "Hey hey, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But, I'm glad you're okay."

"…"

Kudou walked to her bedside and pulled over a chair. He squinted his face from the pain as he took his seat.

"What's up with you?" Ai asked.

"I got a hole in my body but other than that, nothing," he replied with a smile.

Ai turned her head with concern, "You got shot?" she asked with surprise in her voice.

"Yea, another one on the stomach," he said patting the damaged area then realizing what he had done, he gave a scream of pain before returning to a chuckle.

Ai looked down to her sheets and ran her fingers through them. "It's all my fault…" she mumbled.

"huh?" Shinichi fell silent and raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Ran-san?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. The last thing I remember before passing out after exiting the chopper was her being rolled to the emergency room. Haven't seen her since," he replied. "I'm sure she'll be fine…she's a tough girl," he smiled.

'This is all happening because of me…' "I'm…sorry…" she whispered.

"Hey, don't be. Not like you could have done anything to prevent it. You're tired tonight, I'll leave now to let you get some rest. It's almost morning and I best get some shuteye too. There's going to be a lot of questions flying tomorrow," Shinichi gave one last smile at the door before he walked out and shut the door behind.

'There was something I could have done…I Could have chosen death…' Ai thought as she closed her eyes.

End…

Next chapter is the Finale. I reread this chapter and still not quite satisfied with it. I may rewrite this chapter later on but for now, this was the best that I could come up with lol. Next chapter will turnout to be either super long or unusually short. And I hope it will turn out better than this one ;

Crystal Snowflake: Now that the case about Hattori is done for…for now…we can start with the more intricate stuff .

Tantei: I know I got off from S/S for the past 4/5 chapters but how can I put them as lovers when Ran is around. Next chapter will have LOTS of S/S…well..C/A, you'll see heh heh.

Anime Obsession260: No prob, glad you liked last chapter.

Fanfic Maniac: I see, alright, glad to know you're there haha

The Number one Case Closed Lover: Wow, you're kind of pushy there. I probably shouldn't but I did and have been feeling some what offended from you.

I Demand Peace on Earth: I'm working, I'm working, (wipes sweat, gasps for air, flip through 15 dictionaries) "Who ever said words don't hurt didn't know the true meaning of writer's cramp was, I can say that much"

Once again, I apologize for this mediocre chapter, maybe I'm just tired from my midterms haha. Thank you for letting me know that there are still all of you out there who's reading this story, I'm very happy to know

And to all who are reading but haven't left a review, I curse you…then I'll hope that you've enjoyed this story


	12. Winds of the Cold Chilling Night

Ch20

"Speech"

'Thought'

Winds of the Cold Chilling Night

The sun made it's way over the city buildings, bleaching its ray into the young detective's window, coloring it with its golden radiance that 'miraged' the scenery outside. The boy lay still, resting his eyes but not asleep. Throughout the night, he had tried to but even if he did drift off at times, he would awaken no longer than an hour later. His mind was split between two thoughts. The obvious fact that Ran is still under intensive care was one. The other…

'Haibara was acting more depressed then usual…Could she be thinking of…'

A figure stood by the door interrupted his thoughts. "Heiji!" Shinichi gasped. His rival made his way down the quiet room with a strange focus and determination in his eyes.

"You know?" Shinichi whispered and watched Heiji nod as a reply.

"But I still believe his innocent," said Heiji.

"Look, I know what you saw might be hard to believe but…"

"No, it's not that" Hattori cut in, "I may not know much about this black organization of yours but, usually, the head of such a crime syndicate is more…tougher. When I spoke with him, I didn't feel like I was talking to the mastermind behind such a huge organization but as my father. There was a certain uncertainty in his voice,"

"Are you saying that…"

"Yea, I think this whole thing was a set up."

Silence

"Hattori…I think this whole thing has just been a shock to you. That's why you're having such a difficult time accepting reality," Shinichi consoled.

"No, I'm not! I know my father better than anyone in the world! He isn't a man capable of such acts!" Hattori shouted.

"We caught him red handed! Even if he wasn't, he would be arrested for being a part of it!"

"…"

"Fine, I'll tell Ms. Jodie to keep an eye on things. That's the best I can do now."

"…alright…"

Shinichi got to his feet and took his jacket from the coat hanger. Giving a quick pat upon his pocket, he gave a bright smile. Hattori looked at the young man with questions in his eyes and was about to ask a question when he was cut off by Kudou's abrupt, "Let's go look for Ran."

(Haibara's Room)

"Miyano-san…Miyano-san!" a whispering call came as Ai opened her sleepy eyes slowly.

"Ms. Jodie?" she sat up and greeted her.

"Hi, how you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm fine, I was caught in that fire but I managed to escape," then a sudden memory shot back into her mind. "Shuichi! Where's Shuichi!" she exclaimed.

Jodie gave her a difficult look and took a deep breath. "He..didn't make it…" Ai's heart skipped a beat as her eyes grew wide with her mouth. "I have something for you," Jodie continued as she pulled out a small slightly burnt rose, "We found him lying on the floor. Cause of death was a lack of oxygen used by the fire and he himself was never burnt. He held this in his hand"

Ai took the flower to her hand. Looking upon the flower, two stream of tears strolled from the corner of her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I'm going to check up on Shinichi-kun and Ran-san," Jodie said, raising from her seat.

'It's all my fault…' "wait…I'll come with you," Ai said as she placed the rose on the table beside the bed and got to her feet.

The two walked down the halls. Jodie turned occasionally, shooting Ai with a concerned look as she gazed at the sad expression on the tiny girl's face. "Miyano-san, will you excuse me for a moment? I just remembered something. Ran-san's room should be just down the hall to the right so wait for me there, I'll come in a sec," she said, trying to be cheerful as they approached a split in the path.

"Alright…" Ai replied with a completely neutral voice.

Jodie gave a small smile and nod and walked off the other hall. Taking a glance back to make sure that the girl was gone, she turned the corner where a figure folded his arms and gave a sigh at her arrival.

"You told her?" he asked.

"Yea…", she replied shifting her glance to the side, "Are you sure this was for the best? I mean, why can't you two…"

"I and her has too much past," he cut in, "It's best for the both of us if we just moved on. I don't wish to be in her life, and…I don't wish for her to be in mine."

"So where are you going now?" Jodie said, changing the mood with a change of her voice.

"Me? I still have something I need to check on," he answered.

"They assigned you to a new case already?" Jodie asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, no, just some post-case research that I want to do," he replied as he turned his back and motioned for the door, "Besides, there's still something that's stuck in my mind." He inhaled and exited the door before Jodie could ask anymore questions.

(Another place in the hospital)

"Excuse me, could you tell me where Ran Mouri's room is?" Shinichi asked.

"Uh…that would be…room 106, it's down the hall, take your first right, and go straight down and you should find it," the nurse replied politely.

"Thank you," Shinichi gave a short bow, forgetting about his wound and squinted his face when pain shot from his abdomen as he bent down. He raised his head with a weak laugh. The nurse giggled and walked away.

Normally, Hattori would have said some mocking jokes at the idiotic behavior to the teenage detective but he was too busy thinking about the past night that he didn't even notice. He had been subconsciously following Shinichi as he was led all over the hospital before the boy finally decided to ask someone for directions.

Making his way down, Shinichi mumbled to the boy behind him, "Hey, don't do anything rash."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Hattori asked, flipping to attention.

"I mean, just leave the rest to the FBI and the police. There's nothing you could have done to prevent this from happening, so it's not up to you to go flip over world trying to track down every member of B.O." Shinichi said in a casual voice.

"I know…but I still have the feeling that perhaps I could have done something to change this…I just can't get rid of it. Maybe if I contacted a close officers of mine when I found out about you or maybe if I…"

"See, now you're just losing it. You couldn't have done that and you know why."

Hattori shut his mouth and looked out the window.

"The first right down the hall," Shinichi said, changing the subject as he stepped around the corner. A crowed of people looked over at his approach. "Inspector Megure? And detective Mouri!"

Everyone was there. Takagi, Satou, Eri, Kogorou. The only ones that wasn't there was the detective boys and Sonoko, who probably hasn't yet come because she hadn't heard of it yet.

"Kudou-kun!" Megure called as he waved the boy over.

"Inspector, what are you doing here? The words travels fast?" Kudou asked.

"No, I came because I heard Mouri-kun here got shot," Megure answered.

Shinichi glanced to the old detective who sat on the wall bench with his arms folded and eyes closed. "Are you okay, detective Mouri?"

"You…how could you let this happen to Ran!" Kogorou demanded with rage.

"Dear, calm yourself," Eri pushed him down.

"You were suppose to protect her from this! You even promised me that no harm would come to her!" he exclaimed.

"I'm…sorry," Shinichi said looking down.

""My daughter is in critical condition in there! Three shots? How did she get shot three times! What were you doing!" Kogorou would have jumped the lad if his wound didn't prevent him each time he prepared for a lunge.

"The only words I can say to you is I'm sorry. If I could switch place with her right now, I would do it without a second's thought," Shinichi replied.

"YO…u…" Kogorou was about to blunt a few more words when he noticed the clenched trembling fist that the boy clutched and leaned his back against the wall with a humph.

Ai stood by the door, staring into the window on top of the door. Because of her size, she had to tilt her head which revealed the concerned look upon her face that Shinichi had only rarely seen.

'The face behind the mask,' he thought as he gave a sigh and lowered his brow at the tiny girl. There was something in her gaze that went beyond concern. Something that he just couldn't put his fingers on. Something that he had never seen through the Mask of Haibara. "H..Hey…Hai…"

"is there a Kudou Shinichi here?" a nurse whispered as she slid the door open.

"I'm Kudou Shinichi," Shinichi replied.

"She's awake and she wants to see you, and also…uh…Haibara Ai-san as well," the nurse announced.

"Me?" Ai looked up with surprise.

"Yes, please come in. The rest of you, she's still a bit weak so I would appreciate it if you all could wait patiently outside.

A round of nods answered her plea.

The room was dim. The beeping of the heart monitor held a constant tempo as the rays of the high noon sun entered softly, shaded by the curtains at the windows on the upper side of the wall. The two made their way into the room quietly as they looked at the young woman, laying upon the bed in the center. Tubes and wires attached to her arms shuffled as she turned her head to see the two approaching figures.

"Shinichi?" she asked in a whisper.

"I'm here…Ran…" Shinichi whispered back. Ai followed closely behind with her mask placed upon her face.

"Shinichi…" a smile found its way upon the girls lips.

"How you doin?" he asked.

"Haibara-san told me…(Egh)…"

"Ran!"

"I'm fine… Haibara-san told me that you do love me and you never meant to hurt me back at that lab."

"I…" Shinichi blushed slightly.

Ran gave a weak giggle, "and now I think I know the true meaning of what she said." Ai narrowed her eyes.

"The true meaning?" Shinichi asked.

"Where did you get that ball Shinichi?" Ran asked.

"Huh, what are you talking about?"

"The rock ball that you through up back at the cliff to divert the fire. Where did you get it from?"

"I…I got it from…

"Here Conan-kun, I won it at the department store. You know, those things where if you buy their goods, you get a chance to win a prize. That was the please try again reward." Ran laughed, "I thought you might like it, kids always like shiny round things don't they?"

I got it from a department store lottery."

Ran gave a small smirk. "That's what I thought you'd say. I gave a similar ball to Conan-kun about 10days ago. I told him that I got it from a department store lottery but it was the professor who really gave it to me. A few month ago, he found me crying at your front door and he gave me that ball, saying rub that ball to relieve your anger jokingly. He invited me in for a cup of coffee and we had a little chat."

"…" (eyes slightly widens)

"The professor made that 'ball' himself as he told me... You're Conan-kun…aren't you…"

"Ran…" 'The case is over now…right? There's no harm in telling her right?' he wondered as he looked at Haibara who stood calmly on her spot.

Noticing his look, Ai turned away as thought to say, 'don't ask me'

"Haibara-san knew about this…right?" Ran asked, turning her attention to the tiny girl beside, "Was that not why you told me what you did?" Ai didn't turn her face away; it wasn't her who should be telling the story.

(Beep…..Beep…..Beep…)

"Shinichi?" Ran asked again.

(Beep…Beep…Beep)

"Ran…I…"

(Beep Beep…Beep…Beep…..Beep…..Beep)

"I see," Ran said before Shinichi finished his sentence, "Thank you…for always being there for me…" her eyes closed, "Conan-kun," she whispered with a soft smile before her body relaxed upon the bed.

"Ran?" Shinichi's eyes widened as did Ai's, "Ran, RAN!"

The nurses pushed him aside and began some medical procedures. Outside the door, the crowed overheard the calls of Shinichi and had glued their faces to the door to hear what was happening inside. Shinichi wanted to help but he didn't know what to do. His mind was going into a blank as he watched the scene with horror. Sticking his hand in his pocket, he swallowed loudly, watching the unconscious girl.

The first thing that brought him back from insanity was Ai, as she dashed to the side of the nurses. "Go page a doctor, NOW!" she ordered as she placed two fingers upon the girl's wrist. "Damn it, her heart rate is all screwed up. You!" she pointed to one of the nurse who watched not knowing what to do, "Get me 5 cc of esmolol, Stat!"

"What?" the nurse hesitated as she looked at the tiny girl.

"Hurry up!" Ai ordered again. The nurse got the medicine requested but still wasn't sure if she should give it to such a young girl. "Do you want her to die!" she exclaimed. Looking down at the unconscious girl, the nurse did as she was told. Ai grasped the needle and inserted into Ran's arm. "Esmolol, commonly known as Brevibloc. It's used to stablize heart from irregular heart rhythn," she explained as the nurses in the room watched with awe, "Damn it, it's not working! Get me 5, no, 10cc of propranolol. She's too tense, we gotta relieve her, this medicine may not be as strong but if I can get her heart to loosen up a bit the maybe I can get it stabilized." The nurse did as told. The girl knew what she was talking about, heck they didn't have a clue to some of the words she used but they didn't care. Right now, she was the best chance the patient had and they weren't going to wait for the doctor to arrive cause it didn't take a doctor to know that the patient was losing life, and fast.

"Haibara…" Shinichi gasped. 'She's so focused that she seem almost desperate…'

"Come on…Come on…Stay with me Ran-san! Stay with me!" she shouted as she kept her fingers on her pulse and her eyes on the heart monitor.

(Beep…Beep.…..Beep…..Beep………….beep…beeeeeeeeeeeeeee………)

"No…we're going to have to do CPR!" Ai called as she took the defibrillator to her hands and began to rub them together, "CLEAR!" (Zap!)

(Beep…beep..beeeeeeeeeeeee….)

"Come on…CLEAR!" (Zap)

(Beep…Beeeeeee…..)

"Come back to us, Ran-san! CELAR!" (Zap) 'No, don't die. Please…'

(Beep…beeeeee…)

"No…"

Two doctors ran into the room loudly but came to an abrupt stop hearing the long stationary tone of the heart monitor. Shinichi stared dumb founded. "Ran…" he called out, "ran…RAN!" He dragged himself to her side and lowered his head to her shoulders. A few quiet sobs were the only sound left in the room now that the doctor had turned off the equipments. Inside his pocket, his hand clutched into a fist. 'Why…' he thought.

Haibara bit her lips as her hands began to tremble, dropping the two paddles on the bed. She took a few steps back from the bed with eyes filled with anger and shock before she dashed out the door and through the crowed. The professor called to her but she was already gone. 'It's all my fault!' she thought as she made her way out of the hospital doors. She no longer felt the headache she had, nor the pain from her wound as it reopened under the bandages from her sudden movements.

Shinichi walked out from the room, only to find the eager faces of the crowed staring back at him. Nearly everyone in the crowed had guessed what had happened but did not wish to believe it until they heard it directly from his lips. "Ran is…" he chocked, "Ran's gone…"

A gasp waved across the crowed. Even Heiji had broken from his train of thought at the horrifying news.

"R..Ran…Ran's…" Kogorou mumbled in his seat. Every part of his body was shaking, even his eyelids, flickered madly until he shut them to prevent them from going out of control. With everything he had, he got to his feet and jumped at Shinichi, forcing the boy against the wall as he grasped the boy's collar. "You…You killed her!" he snarled viciously, "You killed Ran!"

Shinichi said nothing. He couldn't say anything, to him, that was true.

"You bastard, I'm going to kill you! I'm gonna…You..!" Kogorou roared forcing the boy further up against the wall. Shinichi gave a grumble as his back hit, putting shock upon his wound.

"Mouri-kun! Calm yourself!" Megure jumped in, as he held the angry father and attempted to pull him away.

(That night)

Winds of the cold chilling night,

Oh, how cold are thee.

Through the skin,

through the veins,

to the cores of my bones thy piercing blows strikes.

Yee shrieks pain upon this star-crossed heart.

Conan sat alone against the side of the wall in his room. His tiny body had returned late that afternoon in the secrecy of doctor Agasa's living room. There was a depressing quietness in the room which was broken momentarily by the small boy's sigh. No tears have come to his eyes since he had returned from the hospital. An old album lay in his hands, brining back the smile he missed already. Each picture brought back a short moment of relief as its memories pushed away the sadness. But memories are only a drug of heart for him. It may seem to relieve the pains for the moment but only more pain awaits its departure.

"_Do you have anyone you like, Conan-kun? A girlfriend or something like that?"_

"_No, nothing like that,"_

"_I do…someone that I really like. Ever since we were kids, he was mean and so full of himself, and a deduction nerd, but when the time comes, he's brave and reliable and so cool. I REALLY like Shinichi!"_

"Heh," he spat with a mocking smile. 'Was hiding my identity all for nothing?'

"Wow, Youko-san sure is strong. Her old boyfriend was killed in her room and she's bounced back already…I guess I'm just not like that…I can't even sleep at night because Shinichi's disappeared…"

'All the times I made Ran suffer,

"You're all words…" 

all the sadness I made her feel,

"You're always not here on the important times and all you do is call!" 

all the tears I made her shed…'

"Always…always…leaving me behind alone. Who do you think I am?

I…

I love you Shinichi…"

"WERE THEY ALL FOR NOTHING!" he demanded to an invisible figure above raising his fist high into the air. Then, as the soundless state returned to the room, he slammed his fist against his wall with a burst of rage. As he moved to the window, looking at the flickering streetlight, a small shape caught his eye as it sneaked its way out of the next-door gates.

Haibara took a deep breath of the cool night air before turning back to see the place she became accustomed to calling it her home. A trail of dried tear that carved down her cheeks was the only sign of her sorrow. She shut the gate gently, careful not to make any sound so not to wake the sleeping man inside. Turning back to the road, she began to walk. She did not know consciously to where she was headed, she just walked.

Her steps led her to a river. Standing at the bank, she gazed at her reflection created by the opposite bank's lights from the bars. 'How many lives have I ruined…' she wondered and watched her reflection of Shiho Miyano in the river. 'How many lives did I plunder into a world of misery… Kahlil Gibran was right, death would have probably be more sweeter and beloved for me…' she thought then splashed her hand into the water from disgust, 'I think I know what that means now' Slowly, she got to her feet, then looking around at her surrounding, she took a step toward the water.

"Don't do it!" a voice called from behind.

Ai jolted back. "Kudou-kun?" she gasped.

"What were you thinking! I thought something was wrong with your behaviour since last night. Ran's death was something you desperately wanted to prevent, not because of Ran, but for yourself was it not? Not that I wanted her to die, but seeing your actions in that hospital, it was clear. You were pushed to the limit emotionally by guilt." he said calmly, walking out of the shade.

"Why did you stop me…" Ai questioned, "It's my life and it's my decision." She wasn't going to deny her attempt. What for, it was obvious, especially in Kudou's eyes.

"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that this whole thing was your fault, aren't you?"

"…"

"Yea…You and every other person that was involved in this case. Why should you alone get the privilege of relieving yourself through death?" Shinichi gave a small chuckle, trying to change the mood despite the state he himself was in. "Come on, come home with me, we can talk in the morning."

"There's nothing to talk about! Don't B.S. with me about how it wasn't my fault. I know damn well that you believe it's my fault as well. It's not only you, all those countless innocent people that died from APTX4869, the APTX4869 that **I** developed." She shouted.

"No, I don't! and you shouldn't either!" Shinichi opposed.

"There's nothing for me to live for anymore, don't you see! My reason for existence was to help you with your 'Quest' but now that's over, I have nothing left. I tried to help you Kudou-kun, I really did! But in the end, I still couldn't," a new stream of warm tears shot out from her eyes, "For once, I wanted to prove to myself that I can make someone's life better.

Ai's eyes opened slightly, "Why…I'm the one person in the world that you should be hating more than anyone now. There is no more need for me to exist. Before, I had a purpose and that purpose was to help you. Now, I don't have a purpose so then tell me why I should still exist!"

"Exist…for me…I vowed my life to protect you…, " Conan whispered, "so I won't leave your side until you choose to come back with me." Their eyes met, only for a moment, but within that moment, hours of words seemed to have exchanged between the two.

"Kudou-kun…" Haibara's wide open eyes came back to it's usual size. Without a word, she turned and headed back the way she came, sliding past the boy in silence. With a sigh of relief, Kudou followed.

Something happened that night, something had changed. It wasn't anything phenotypic, no, eyes alone could not tell. The two walked solemnly, against the sad trickles of the river, gliding upon the winds of this cold chilling night.

(Following Day)

A group of people had gathered at the cemetery where a new coffin was being lowered into the grave. Everything was silent except for the weeps and moans that sounded under the light overcast. Ai glanced across to the woman next to her, "Where is Shuichi-san going to be buried?"

"We're going to bring him back to America. That is where he would want to be," Jodie answered.

"I see…" said Ai, slightly disappointed as she watched the coffin lowering to the ground.

The ceremony was over and people began to take their leaves. Megure bent down before the tiny figure and put his hands upon the small boy's shoulders. 'I guess Kudou-kun didn't come.' He thought taking a quick look at the moustached man a few paces down, then returning his eyes to the boy before him. "Are you going to be okay Conan-kun?" he asked.

A silent nod came as an answer. The tubby inspector gave a concerning look before turning his attention to a different figure. "Are YOU going to be okay Mouri-kun?" he asked.

The old detective gave a grimly glare at the tiny boy which disappeared with a sorrowful frown. "Yes," he answered.

"Take it easy alright," he said as he patted the man on his back.

"I will Megure-dono…from this day forward, I'm retired," he sighed as he motioned to the car.

"You what!" Megure jolted as he chased after Kogorou.

"I'm getting to my age now too inspector. After what I've been through, 'and realised' in the past few days, I just feel rather tired now," he said, "Those days…were a wonderful dream. Now, it's time for me to wake up." He gave a quick smile before stepping into his car and driving off without much chance for the stunned inspector to attempt to change his mind.

(5 year later)

"and with these factors, I can say that YOU!" a young boy pointed confidently at a sweating figure in the crowed, "Mr. Sakiota is the culprit!"

…

"Wow, I must say you amaze me in every case," inspector Megure laughed heartily as he patted the young boy on his shoulders.

"It was nothing," Conan replied with a smile, walking calmly out the mansion doors as the culprit entered the police car outside with his hands cuffed and head slouched down.

"I guess when you learn from the best, you become the best," Megure complimented, "You've been solving cases for 4 and a half years now and so far you've solved every case! You're were the world's youngest detective you know, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised, haha"

"you say too much inspector Megure," Conan sweat dropped and continued down the path leading to the mansion gates.

The antidote was made but Shinichi never took it. Why return to a life where you've already lost everything? Where will you go when there is nothing ahead? HE still remembers the day in the FBI lab when he announced his news. All were surprised, all but one. Ai knew, she understood his reasons for it was the same as her own.

"Oh, how is Kudou-kun doing lately? I haven't heard from him since he moved to America with his parents 5 years ago when he gave you the right to his house."

"Oh, I'm sure his doing fine."

"Another case solved, Edogawa-kun?" a girl smiled knowingly from behind the bars of the gates, folding her arms with an ominous look in her eyes.

"Oh, Ai-chan, how are you doing?" Megure greeted cheerfully.

"I'm fine," she smiled and gave a nod.

"Your generation is amazing. You're the head scientist in the Medical research centre right? And to think that you're still only 17, it's amazing." He congratulated.

"Thank you," Ai smiled.

"Ai, what are you doing here?" Conan asked with surprise.

"Nothing in particular, just on the way back from the lab and saw these police cars so decided to drop by. I knew you would be involved in it somehow," she replied.

"Sorry to barge in," Megure cut in, "but Kudou-kun, are you going to join us for the questioning? If you are, I can get you a ride down to the station with me right now."

"No, thank you. I…still have a place I want to stop by," he said softly, switching his eyes to the ground.

"Right…" Megure gave a difficult look, "well, I'll be off then. If you need anything, just give me a call." He said and gave two short slaps on the boy's shoulders before walking to his car.

Ai and Conan watched the cars fade into the distance before they began their steps.

"Kudou-kun, you going to the cemetery?" Ai asked.

"Yea…" Conan answered.

"…I'll come with you…"

"…sure…"

Conan rose slowly after a few mumbling words before the stone. Ai put a hand upon the young man's shoulder with a concerned look on her face. She opened her mouth but was cut off before she could speak by Conan. "It's not your fault."

Then with a grin, he continued, "Every time you come here with me, you say I'm sorry. You got nothing to be sorry about."

Ai bit her lips and shuffled away slightly, "Perhaps, but…"

"You said to me once," Conan said quietly, "that you ruined my life."

"I…"

"Perhaps there was a time that I even thought that that was true. But times have changed, you've even changed."

"Me?"

"You went from making drugs to kill people to making drugs to save people now haven't you?" Shakes his head, "…Haibara…"

"Yes?"

His face was beginning to flourish with a tiny hint of pink. "Do you think that…that there is a chance for us?"

Something came over the young girl. A strange feeling as thought she had been waiting for such a comment, yet there was something more to that and at that time she didn't know what it was.

"I've been feeling a strange pull to you for sometime now. For the longest time, I believed it was because of the promise I made to you, that I was just being protective of you. But after Ran died and the case was over, I still had the pull I had from before. It's been five years now for me to finally be able to say this to you. Ai…will you…marry me?"

A look of surprise grew upon her face as she looked upon the boy's sincere face. "You're serious…" she gasped. "I…I…" she took a few steps back before running off down the street.

"Haibara!" Conan reached his arm but she was gone. He started walking with a sad frown upon his face. Giving one last look at the disappearing figure, lowered his head and paced home.

Ai shut the door to her room as she dashed down the hall, not even answering to professor's call. Her heart was pounding, and not because of the run she just had. 'Why did I run away like that…' she wondered as she made her way to the drawers. Pulling out an old shoe box, she opened the lid. The tear drop pendant lay in the centre with 2 roses, one on each side. The light of the room reflected off the shiny surface of the pendant and danced across the room. She took the pendant to her hand and gazed at its content of two smiling figures. She stood there for the next 30minutes, her eyes fixed upon the photo as memories flashed through her mind. Then, with a smile and a long pensive sigh, she laid the pendent upon the cabinet, opened, and faced down.

She exited the house once more as the confused professor watched, scratching his balding head. Ai's steps took her back to the river where she had once wanted to end her life at. Looking down at the rose in her hand, she grasped them tightly to her chest before gliding them through the air, into the trickling river. She stayed there watching the two symbol for her love fade away to the distance, while feeling the gentle breeze of the wind of the cold chilling night. 'good bye…' she whispered to distant darkness.

Conan sat on the couch with his back in a hunch, fidgeting with the ring that he was going to present earlier that day. For many years, he had kept that ring. It was a symbol of his trust, of this bond, of he himself. He griped the ring in his palm in a tight hold as though to strangle the tiny metallic item.

The doorbell rang, startling the boy a few feet to the air. The bell rang again. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" he called to the door.

Ai stood outside and watched the door open. She could see a look of surprise in the young detective. Without a word, she leaned over and pressed her lips upon his. It took Kudou a few seconds to click back to the what was happening, but when he finally did, he closed his eyes and kissed back, relaxing the grip in his hand.

**End…**

Epilogue

"Dad, guess what!" A teenage girl ran in through the gates of the mansion. Her face sparkling with a proud smile Her light brown eyes contrasted her orange cinnamon hair, extending to just short of her back.. In her hands, she carried her Karate uniform, bundled together by the black belt. With a cheerful wink, she finished off, "I won the city Karate tournament!"

"Great job, I'm proud of you!" replied the mid-aged man.

"Wait a go Hanako, now go upstairs and get cleaned up. We'll go to that restaurant you liked so much as a celebration," a woman called from the door as she made her way out to greet her child.

"Really, YES!" Ran giggled and ran up the stairs.

"How you doin," Ai asked, giving a quick peck upon his cheek.

"I'm not bad, she's growing up," Conan replied with a smile, "You look like you're doing pretty good."

"She reminds you of her, doesn't she."

"Yea…"

Ai glanced down with an understanding smile and walked back in the house.

(That night, in the restaurant)

Hanako looked out the window excitedly as the sparkles of the city lights danced glamorously below. "Dad," she whispered.

"Yes?" Conan looked up from the menu booklet.

"Hajime-kun said he would bring me to tropical land if I won the tournament. Can I go with him this Sunday?" she asked.

Conan's eyes widened, "No! Abosultely not!" he exclaimed.

"But dad!" Hanako persisted.

Ai gave a sigh, "Let her go Conan," she said.

"Hajime-kun and I are chilhood friends, you can trust him dad, and his just as great a detective as you are," with a gasp, she quickly slapped her hands to her mouth.

"But…" he caught himself when he noticed a glare in Ai's eyes, "Yea, guess you're right. Alright, but I want you home before 9:00, is that clear!"

"As crystal, thanks dad, I love you too," she giggled and returned to the view.

'Tsuburaya Haijime…geeze…'

**The End.**

Thanks for reading this story, I hope you've enjoyed it. I may write a sequel to this and that's why I left a few open ends to this. For those of you that didn't know the meaning of wind; winds are used to symbolize a change. The Indians believed that each time a gust of wind blew, a change would come..

#1 CC lover: lol, no harm done. Glad you like it.

Anime Obsession: Final chapter, hope you liked it.

Tantei: Long enough for ya? Lol

Crystal Snowflake: I couldn't make it SS right off the bat. Their two "Loved" ones just died. But hey, Shiho lost her guy and Shinichi lost his girl. But Conan can still have his girl and Ai can still have her guy right? Lol.


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